Dreamhunter
by Kender20
Summary: AU In 2154, Atem was one of many new students transferring to a new school. The twist? That school resides on the lush moon of Pandora. What would start out as a day in school would turn into a great adventure, as he and his new friends (including a former marine turned teacher) get accepted by the Omaticaya clan. Story based on James Cameron's Avatar. Rating may go up.
1. Prolouge and A New World

Note: Hello again, my friends! It's been a while, but I finally got the courage to start writing again! While I am still working on my story Plasmashock, I've had this crossover fic in my head for quite some time now: a crossover between Yu-Gi-Oh and James Cameron's Avatar! No one else aside from at least one author has ever thought of something like this, and even then it's not exactly a true crossover like this one. It's going to follow the world and storyline of James Cameron's Avatar, but with some major differences! Some of them will become clear to you once you begin the tale. Pairings will include Jake X Neytiri, and also Atem X Mana and a few others that will be noted later. So without further ado, let us begin!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh or Avatar. And I'm glad I don't!

* * *

**Dreamhunter**

**Prologue**

_**When I was at the VA hospital, with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying… I was free…**_

_**To be honest with you, I wasn't the only one…**_

_A pair of eyes opened, revealing brilliant crimson irises, the color of freshly-drawn blood. Blood. In a sickening way, it was a perfect match to horrifying scene that played out before the fifteen year old boy who owned those eyes. Large gunships shooting out laser beams, blasting away at wood and metal, shattering glass. People falling dead around him. And a regal middle aged man, with straight long gray hair, mustache and beard, now laid limp and lifeless in his arms, a man he knew so well and loved so deeply. The boy stared down at the man, then at his surroundings, filled with fear and disbelief at what had just happened. Then he heard a loud booming sound not far away from where he was kneeling. He looked over and began to panic. There was another boy just his age, a good distance from him, standing just inside the entrance of the now-decimated building in sorrow, unaware of the danger that was to befall him! The two of them looked very much alike, as identical twins often do; both brothers had spiky tri-colored hair reminiscent of a star, mostly black with the tips lined in crimson, their lightning-shaped bangs a brilliant gold. And both brothers were quite handsome, with lean athletic bodies dressed in a black tank top, blue jeans, and black studded boots. There was a clear difference between them, though. Some parts of the elder brother's bangs stood up on end, framing his hair in an aesthetically pleasing way, while the younger brother's bangs didn't stand on end at all. Also, the elder's eyes were sharper and his body had a bit more muscle. Simply put, the elder was basically a slightly more mature version of the younger in appearance._

_The heavy beams had been blasted out of its place by the laser gunships, and what terrified the boy was that they were now plummeting toward his younger brother at full speed. The elder brother screamed and rose to his feet, sprinting as fast as he could. The younger looked up to see the falling debris right above him, and grew stiff, too afraid to move out of the way. It was right at that moment that the elder brother pushed his younger brother out of the way. Then all went black._

_**He was an ordinary kid who dreamed he could be a hero.**_

_**Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up.**_

**Chapter 1: A New World**

"Atem! Atem!" a familiar voice called out. They were fain echoes at first, but they soon became much clearer. Slowly, the boy, Atem, opened his eyes, and saw his brother looking down at him, his innocent but determined face all lit up with excitement. "Atem, wake up!" the younger brother, Yugi, shouted.

Atem squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, shaking his head in an attempt to rouse himself. "Y-Yugi?" he queried.

"Seriously, you've been asleep for nearly the whole trip!" Yugi stated.

That took Atem by surprise. "Y-You mean… we're here already?"

"We're close." Yugi answered.

"What year are we?"

"2154, the same year it is when we left!" Yugi replied in slight annoyance before he smiled again. "That's one of the big advantages that TERF has to the other guys. With their technology, we're able to travel through space in five minutes, where it would normally take five years without! And best of all, there's no need for cryosleep! You should at least enjoy the moment while you have the chance!"

"R-right." Atem stated softly as his brother floated to another part of the spaceship, the Solar Barge.

TERF. The Terran Environmental Restoration Force. They're what you call the guardians of nature. Many people back on Earth love them, and rightfully so. It was because of TERF that the planet still had some green at all. Most areas there had become part of at least one of five industrial megacities… a Dead Zone. Atem Mutou and his twin brother Yugi, along with most of the young occupants of the Solar Barge, were among the unfortunate souls who had lived in a Dead Zone for most of their lives, facing toxic waste and pollution day in and day out. It was only due to the vigilant efforts of TERF that the poison was prevented from spreading further. The Mutou brothers knew this better than anyone, for the late president of TERF's Earth branch was Akhenamkhanen Mutou, their father. Atem sighed sadly. It had been almost a year since their father was killed by the soldiers of RDA, or the Resources Development Administration, the tyrants of the Dead Zones and TERF's greatest enemy. _It's all my fault…_ he thought to himself. _I don't deserve to be here. Not after what I did._

Trying to take his mind off the events of his past, Atem decided to survey his surroundings. There were several children and teenagers on board, as well as a few scientists and teachers, and they were having the time of their lives. Two individuals caught his interest. One was tall a young man his age, with brown hair, neatly combed in the back. He was wearing a black futuristic suit, probably made of a skin-tight leather; they were decorated with two pair of buckles on the calves and biceps, and silver arm guards in the forearms. The buckle of his belt was in the shape of two letters: K and C. And those icy blue eyes… Atem knew this young man all too well, having seen him so many times on television. But this was the first time he's even seen Seto Kaiba in person, and it was surprising to him since it was happening in this rather unlikely place. Why would the president of Kaibacorp even bother to take part of this school program in the first place? A younger boy, around twelve years old, leaned close to the ship's window. The elder Mutou correctly presumed the boy to be Seto's little brother Mokuba; he had long black hair a little past his shoulders, which looked a bit messy in comparison. He wore a blue and white striped shirt with an orange vest, along with some jeans and sneakers. His blue eyes looked at the speeding stars in wonder.

"Look Seto!" Mokuba stated in awe, "This is even better than all those Science Fiction movies we used to watch!"

"I can see that." Seto replied bluntly, "And at least it's better than that jungle planet we're heading to."

"Seto!" Mokuba scolded, "Quit being such a sour puss! You may not think so, but Pandora is the coolest place to be! You should be happy about coming here." The former billionaire said nothing. He just looked crossed his arms and looked away.

"Attention all students and staff of the Avatar School Program," A voice announced on the intercom, "We are now approaching Pandora. Please follow the guidelines as we transfer you to our shuttle, the Silver Leonopteryx."

Many of the kid whooped and cheered at the news, especially another pair of teenage boys. One had sandy blonde hair and hazel-brown eyes, and wore a T-shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. The other had brown hair styled like an oddly-shaped horn, with a plain white T-shirt under a brown jacket. "Woo-HOOO! It's about time!" the sandy blonde, Jonouchi Katsuya, exclaimed in excitement.

"PANDORA, HERE WE COME!" The other boy, Honda Hiroto, cheered, pumping his fist into the air. In the background, Seto just rolled his eyes in blatant annoyance. He was not looking forward to this trip.

As the Solar Barge switch off from its "Warp Drive" mode, it gently glided over toward a huge gas planet that resembled a blue version of Jupiter: Polyphemus. It real destination, however, was one of the moons up ahead. It looked very similar to Earth, but much cleaner and possibly more beautiful.

Pandora.

Like many children on Earth, Atem grew up hearing about this moon. And like many children on Earth, he dreamed of going there. But he never thought that this dream would come true at this very moment. Once again, Atem grew sad in his thoughts. This was what he had always wanted, but it was so unfitting of him to get this chance of a lifetime now. He wasn't supposed to go to Pandora, like Yugi was. In fact, his parents had refused to let him go there in the first place. It was for a very good reason, but Atem didn't understand it until it was far too late. Now he had lost everything… his home, his father… and even the use of his own body. The attack had left him paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a wheelchair and completely dependent on others for survival. He should be glad that he was alive. Instead, he was wishing that he had died along with his father.

Apparently, most of the people he knew back on Earth seemed to agree with him. The people who once called him a friend all blamed him for the string of events that led to the destruction of their homes, their loved ones, and most of all, one of their most beloved leaders of TERF. Atem could still remember their voices, and their faces, so filled with their anger and hate towards him. It was unbearable, but only because it was true from his perspective. Only his mother and his twin brother stayed by his side when the rest of the world cast him out, but even so, he feared that even they might turn against him one day. And since no one was willing to give his family the money he needs to get his spine fixed (because no one was willing to forgive him), he had come to depend on Yugi for nearly all of his daily living, even more than he depended on their mother.

It was originally planned that Yugi would go on ahead to Pandora to attend school there, leaving Atem behind. But something rather unexpected happened, and although Atem had yet to know what it was, it was enough for Yugi to convince their mother to let his older twin come with him. "It would be good for his health," he had told them. "Not to mention it would be a brand new start for him. And besides, Grandpa would be thrilled to see us both!" Both their mother and Atem himself were initially hesitant, but eventually they both agreed to grant the younger twin's request. And now here he was, approaching Pandora, on his way to become a student in the Avatar School Program. All the kids that were to be his new classmates and the adults that were to be his new teachers were probably unaware of the things he had done, so in a sense, it was kind of like a new beginning for him. But is it really possible that he could rebuild his life from scratch like this? He couldn't bring himself to admit it, but a big part of him was saying yes, filled with a great deal of hope and excitement.

* * *

Around the very same moment that the Solar Barge arrived, another space shuttle was making its approach: the ISV Venture Star, owned by the infamous RDA. For all its advancements, the ship sorely lacked several things that give TERF's Solar Barge the advantage. Namely, warp drive mode. As the passengers were roused from their five years of cryosleep and boarded on the Valkyrie shuttle for transport to Pandora, the pilots of the Valkyrie looked over to TERF's own transport shuttle, cleverly shaped like a certain apex predator of the moon's skies. "Ugh, there goes the Silver Leonopteryx." mumbled one pilot.

"Damn lucky bastards." grumbled the other, "While we're stuck with the scenic route, they get to be the intergalactic bullet train…"

Thankfully, they continued with their business, and once they were filled with their precious cargo, both shuttles shot through Pandora's atmosphere like diving birds. Once near ground, the shuttles took their separate paths. The Valkyrie flew over a huge pit: a strip mine digging for a high temperature superconductor that Terran civilization couldn't function without. Or so the greedy RDA executives believe. Inside the Valkyrie, three men waited along with several other passengers, mostly made up of soldiers from armies across the globe of Earth. The first one, Raphael, had light blonde hair and a statuesque build, dressed in an army tank and pants. The second, Amelda, had short magenta hair and was dressed in a two-piece futuristic jumpsuit, and knee high boots, giving him the look of an androgynous futuristic biker. The third, Varon, had spiky brown hair complete and a biker getup that was more grungy, complete with a red vest and shoulder pads and red biker boots.

"Oy, five years in cryosleep…" Varon muttered in a heavy Australian accent, and shook his head like a dog to help loosen up his stiff muscles. "Sure didn't feel like five years."

Amelda looked out the window. "I wonder how Miruko is doing… He's probably in fourth grade by now, that's for sure."

"Yeah, it was five years ago when your brother traveled here to attend that elementary school run by TERF." Raphael noted, "It's the same with my own brother and sister, Julian and Sophia. They all left on the Solar Barge the very moment we were boarding the ISV Venture Star."

"The fellas in RDA are a bit distasteful, but at least they pay well." Varon stated, "Kind of ironic for us, really. While TERF was kind enough to help the kids get an education, it's their enemies that offer us a job. Was it the right choice to accept their offer? I dunno. But I guess we're bound to find out."

Right at that moment, the chief crew of the Venture Star stomped into view down the aisle. "All right everyone, Exopacks on! Exopacks on!"

"Well, it's time." Raphael stated, as he and the others prepared to equip their Exopacks, the face-covering breathing gear used on Pandora for outdoor protection. Understandable since the air on Pandora was toxic to humans.

"Remember people," the crewman continued, "You lose your mask, you'll go unconscious in twenty seconds, and you're dead in four minutes! Let nobody be dead today, it'll look bad on my report!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the same time, the new students of the Avatar School Program were also preparing for their landing. "All right kids, the school is getting close!" One of the experienced crew announced, "From now on, when you're outdoors, keep your Exopacks on at all times when you are not using your avatar!" The adults set to work putting Exopacks on the small children—as well as making sure they don't pull it off. A teenage girl with long auburn hair and milky white lenses, wearing a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and cute socks and sneakers, reached out toward Jonouchi. "Is it time yet?" the girl asked.

Jonouchi reached out to hold his little sister's hand and prepared her Exopack. "Yeah Shizuka," he answered with a smile, "it's time."

Yugi was also helping Atem put on his Exopack, since he obviously couldn't do it himself. "I guess I better hold on tight to your wheelchair Brother," Yugi stated, "From what Grandpa told me, the gravity here is 80 percent that of the gravity on Earth."

"That's pretty low." Atem noted.

"Just be glad it's not as low as our own moon!" Yugi added with a wink. "Otherwise you'd be floating away!"

Soon the Silver Leonopteryx approached what appeared to be a small college town. The buildings there seemed to be a perfect blend of technology and nature. In fact, some of the "buildings" were actually trees. As it neared the runway for its landing, some blue skinned humanoids came near, brimming with curiosity and anticipation. Indeed, even their physique was different from their small human counterparts; their facial structure was reminiscent of a feline with their large almond-shaped eyes, their feline ears, and their protruding snouts, and their bodies were made up of graceful long necks, wide shoulders, narrow, elongated waists, and long limbs, giving them a slender look with a sharply defined musculature. They even had long prehensile tails, as well as four digits on their hands and feet. To add to the effect, their cyan skin had dark blue stripe patterns which further enhanced their beauty.

Mokuba's eyes lit up as he saw the humanoids from out the window. "Big Brother, look!" he stated to Seto in amazement. "These must be the Na'vi! Wow, they look so cool in their native clothes!"

"Yeah they do." Seto replied, "But you won't catch me hanging around with these guys."

"Um, hello? Did you forget?" the younger Kaiba pointed out, "You're an avatar driver now, just like me and everyone else who's going here! It's a requirement for all students and teachers attending school on Pandora!" Seto sighed, hating the fact that his brother was right.

"Thanks for reminding me!" he muttered sarcastically.

As the Silver Leonopteryx made a safe landing, all the children waited by the hatch, eager to run out and explore the new world. "Calm down everyone," A crew member shouted over the noise of the young crowd, "You'll get your chance to look around soon enough, but for now we are heading straight for the main hall in TERF headquarters, where your new teachers will give you their welcome speech! Now are you ready?"

"Yeah!" all the students cheered, and some of the smaller children bounced enthusiastically. With that, the crew member put on her Exopack and touched what seemed to be a tight collar decorated with smooth stones, but was actually a communication device.

"Let 'em all loose!" she exclaimed. And almost instantly, the hatch opened; the Pandoran air surged inside like a rippling wave on water. Everyone stared out toward what would be the entrance to their new home away from home, even as they felt the pressure of the air against their skin. Finally the moment arrived. "All right kids, single file!" the crew member announced, guiding the excited kindergarteners out in a line. Even so, the children clamored out like a rushing river, all seeming as if they had just arrived at a very famous amusement park. The teenagers came out at a tad slower pace, but no less enthusiastic about the experience than their younger peers. Meanwhile, Yugi began to set up his brother's wheelchair, a power chair made specifically for a C-4 quadriplegic, complete with a computer system with wires and sensors that allows the occupant to control it via brain power. Atem had to thank the doctors in the hospital he stayed in back on Earth, as they were kind enough to provide him with this wheelchair.

Once the setup was finished, Yugi turned toward his older brother. "Okay Atem, time to get you on." With that, the younger brother proceeded to transfer the older to his seat, picking him up from under his arms. It proved to be a daunting task, since he was practically moving Atem by himself. Just then, a young teenage girl with short shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes rushed toward the twins. She was wearing a yellow tank top and pink jacket with sleeves rolled up to the middle of her biceps, a pair of dark pink jean shorts and pink sock stuffed in white hiking sneakers.

"Here!" the girl stated, "Let me help you."

"Oh! Thanks!" Yugi replied, grateful for the unexpected help.

"Yes, thank you." Atem stated likewise, as he was passed gingerly to the girl, who took hold of him from behind and allowed his brother to take hold of his legs. Working together, Yugi and the girl safely maneuvered the disabled brother to his wheelchair.

"There we go." Yugi breathed out, satisfied with the effort. "Now let's get you hooked up."

"You're guys are attending Avatar High as well, aren't you?" the girl asked.

"Yup, we sure are." Yugi answered as he began to set up the device. "I'm Yugi Mutou. This is my twin brother, Atem."

"You mean **the** Atem and Yugi Mutou, twin sons of Akhenamkhanen, president of TERF's Earth branch, and grandsons of the explorer Sugoroku?" the girl asked in amazement. Atem winced at the question.

"That we are." Yugi confirmed with a grin.

"Well it's nice to meet you!" the girl greeted with a genuine smile, and held out her hand. "I'm Anzu Mazaki, by the way."

"Nice to meet you too, Anzu!" Yugi greeted, shaking Anzu's hand.

"Yes… yes, it's a pleasure…" Atem mumbled, before bowing his head in shame. The schoolgirl looked at him in concern.

Before the question even left her lips, Yugi answered sympathetically, "Oh, he wasn't always like this. He's been through a lot since our father was killed."

"Oh yeah," Anzu stated, "I've heard about the massacre that took place back on Earth. I don't know about the events that led to it, but you have my condolences."

"Well, let's just say I did something horrible." Atem replied sullenly, "I know you're curious, but I don't want to talk about it."

"That's okay." Anzu assured, "You don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to. Everyone makes mistakes after all, and I'm sure that whatever you did wasn't your fault."

Atem sighed. "Try telling that to some of the people back on Earth."

"Putting that aside," Yugi stated, "I was originally going to come here by myself, but then I heard that something unusual happened here while I've been waiting. I wasn't sure what, but I figured it might have something to do with my avatar, so I figured 'Why not?' and convinced my brother to come along with me in hopes of helping him recover. Anyway, I sure hope we get to see each other more often. You're a very nice girl."

"Thanks Yugi!" Anzu replied cheerfully, "And I'm sure we will! After all, we'll get to hang out in our avatars. And who knows? We could all be classmates in the same homeroom."

"Heh, heh, you have a point!" Yugi laughed. By then, he had just finished with the setup, and the older Mutou brother was ready; the two circular sensors on the side of Atem's head seemed to glow as they picked up his brain signals and activated the wheelchair. "Okay Brother, time to head out."

"Let's go out together." Anzu suggested.

"Sure! That's a great idea!" Yugi agreed. With that confirmation in place, Atem concentrated like he always did and willed his wheelchair to move. Slowly, the wheels moved, then gradually picked up the pace. Now at last, the trio was leaving the shuttle to enter this brand new world for the first time. All the while, the Na'vi clan that was living and working alongside TERF was looking upon, and chatting about in their native language, the young newcomers who surged out like floodwaters toward the main headquarters; through the years they had come to know of this annual coming of "sky people", and even now they were fascinated by the spectacle of future students. Indeed, it proved to be a welcoming sight for the human children.

The trio paused a moment when they saw Shizuka standing still, stick in hand, seeming to look around. "Oh Katsuya!" she gasped in amazement, "The sounds are so amazing up close!"

Jonouchi chuckled, "They sure are, Sis. But wait until we get you in your avatar!"

Anzu turned toward the Mutou brothers and explained, "That girl over there is Shizuka. We talked together during the trip through space; she happens to be one of the unfortunate victims of River Blindness, having contracted it when she was a kid. Her brother Jonouchi Katsuya brought her here with him, not only to ensure that they get an education together but also in the hopes that her health would improve."

"Kinda sounds like me and Atem in that aspect." Yugi noted.

At the same time, a group of bullies from the high school were hanging out, inspecting the newcomers as they passed by. They chuckled at the thought of "fresh meat" to target. One of them happened to glance at Atem and his brother and got the leader's attention. "Hey Ushio, look! There's a little shrimp accompanied by meals on wheels."

The leader of the bullies, Ushio, gave an evil-looking smirk as he gazed at his new victims-to-be. "Oh, that is just wrong!"

Just then, an old man came rushing through the crowd. The short and stocky elder had a look similar to that of the Mutou twins, but his hair was gray and tied up in a bandana, and he had a mustache and beard and was wearing a red shirt and a pair of tan overalls and dark hiking boots. His face lit up when he saw the boys. "Yugi! Atem!" he shouted.

One look at the old man before him and Yugi was beaming. "Grandpa!" He exclaimed, rushing over to Sugoroku Mutou and pouncing on him with a big hug. Throughout their lives, the twins could only contact their grandfather from a distance via an upgraded version of superluminal communications, so it was a true joy, even for Atem, to finally meet him in person.

"Welcome to Pandora, Yugi!" Sugoroku laughed heartily, gladly returning the hug. Then he broke the hug at stepped toward Atem. "And of course, we mustn't forget your big brother!"

"Hey Grandpa!" Atem greeted, giving a small smile as he leaned his head against Sugoroku's body as the old man gave a gentle and loving hug. Once they broke the hug, Atem asked, "You're not angry at me? After what's happened to your son on Earth?"

"Of course I'm not angry!" Sugoroku replied, "Besides, I know you're not responsible."

"But-" Atem protested.

"No 'buts' Atem." Sugoroku interrupted firmly but gently, "Whatever those other kids told you back on Earth, it's definitely not true! Even they should know that!" Of course, Atem wasn't convinced. The old explorer smiled nevertheless. "Cheer up! This is a brand new start in a brand new world, and you need to embrace it."

Atem nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

Satisfied, Sugoroku turned his focus to all three teens before him. "Well, we have no time to waste. Ironheart is going to start his welcoming speech any minute and we sure don't want to be late!"

"Sure thing Mr. Mutou" Anzu agreed.

As they traveled together, though, a small child shouted excitedly. "LOOK! A DIREPONY!" Atem looked over amid the crowd of small excited human children, and saw a Na'vi passing by, leading a gorgeous horse-like animal with six legs. The disabled boy couldn't help but gasp in wide-eyed wonder, just like those children. Due to his love of horses, the direhorse was his favorite Pandoran animal; he had seen these magnificent creatures in books and on TV, even on the internet, but to actually see them before his eyes like this… it took his breath away!

Yugi was quick to notice and grinned. "Well what do you know, Atem?! That's the first time I've seen you smile in months!"

* * *

At Hell's Gate, the industrial-styled base of operations for the RDA, a man was getting himself ready to prepare his own speech to his group of newcomers. He was a handsome and elegant-looking man, with long turquoise hair and dressed in a blue-violet business suit, holding a glass of champagne in his left hand. He strode among the soldiers and businessmen with authority; he was not to be trifled with. "This is not Kaibaland, my friends," the man Dartz, began, "This is Pandora. Mark my words. If there is a Hell, you might want to go there on vacation after a tour through Pandora." He pointed to the rainforest outside the window. "Out there, beyond these fences,"—he turned around, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes, one gold and one turquoise—"every living thing that soars through the skies and crawls on the ground seeks to slay you and feast upon your flesh." Raphael, Amelda and Varon arrived at that very moment as Dartz continued. "Also beyond these fences lives an indigenous population of humanoids known as the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a poison capable of stopping your heart in a single minute, and some are capable of 'magic' that enables them to control the very plants around them. Their bones are reinforced with a naturally occurring carbon fiber; trust me when I say that they're very difficult to kill. This is especially true since some Na'vi clans have a strong alliance with our hated enemy, the Terran Environmental Restoration Force." He strode forward. "As president and CEO of the Resources Development Administration, it is my responsibility to ensure your survival. Of course, I won't be able to succeed with all of you." He paused for a moment as a soldier stepped forward. "Since the head of security is busy with… other duties, I will have Lyle Wainfleet step up and provide you with your safety brief. Lyle?"

"Thank you Mr. President, Sir!" Wainfleet stated before turning his attention to the new grunts. "All right troops! If you wish to survive, you gotta cultivate a strong mental attitude, follow procedures and obey the rules. Rule number one…"

Varon sighed in annoyance. "Ugh! I hate these safety briefs…"

"I don't know about you, but they put my mind at ease." Raphael noted.

Amelda crossed his arms. "At least the kids at the Avatar School Program get a more exciting welcoming speech."

* * *

"AW YEAH!" Jonouchi exclaimed among the crowd as they walked down the hall toward their next destination, "THAT SPEECH WAS AWESOME!"

"Yeah," Honda agreed, "The part about the rules may be a bit boring, but the guys at TERF really outdid themselves! Now I'm really excited about going to school here! And that says a lot since I normally don't like school!"

"Really? Well I'm looking forward to Gym class, as always!" Jonouchi added.

"Maybe because you suck in just about every other subject." Seto mocked from behind.

Jonouchi spun around, fuming. "WHA?! WHY YOU-"

"Cut it out!" Anzu scolded. "I know we've just met, but I don't want to see any fighting before school starts!"

Right at that time, a lanky man pushed his way through the crowd of newcomers. He had a thin mustache and a stubble of a beard, and he wore a red T-shirt, and an explorer's vest, long khakis and hiking boots. In fact, the whole look seemed to read, "geeky jungle explorer". "Excuse me!" he stated as he passed through, "Pardon me." Eventually, though, he managed to reach the one person he wanted to meet the most. "Hi. I don't mean to interrupt, but… You're **the** Sugoroku Mutou, right? Famed explorer and Akhenamkhanen's father?"

"Ho ho ho, that I am." Sugoroku confirmed cheerfully. "Oh, and I suppose you heard of my grandsons as well."

The man looked toward the Mutou twins. "Atem and Yugi? Yeah, I heard about you guys! Wow, your resemblance to your grandfather is uncanny! That, and the fact that he's one of the great legends among TERF… Oh, sorry! I got carried away and forgot to introduce myself!" He reached out his hand. "I'm Norm Spellman. I'm an anthropologist for TERF, and the new culture studies teacher in Avatar High School."

Yugi reached out and shook Norm's hand. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Spellman! I take it you're just as excited as we are about the new avatars."

"Yeah," Norm replied, "I went through avatar training with a friend back on Earth. He passed away before he got the chance, though. Speaking of which, you have my condolences on the death of your father. It must have been a shock for you to watch it all happen."

"You don't know half of it." Atem sadly stated.

"Hey don't worry." Norm assured, "We can talk about this at another time."

That statement proved true as the newcomer's self-appointed tour guide, a charming young man in his early twenties sporting long lavender hair that covered the left side of his face, led them to a large room. Like many of the school faculty, this man, Pegasus J. Crawford, was dressed in a casual garment. "And here we are!" he announced cheerfully, "The TERF-Bio Lab, where the magic is soon to happen! The link beds are to your right, but I presume you'll be more interested in the spectacle to the left." Atem, of course, was the first to look in that direction, and he was in awe at what he saw. It was filled with several large tanks, each holding what appeared to be a Na'vi body, complete with even a tail and what appeared to be a long braid. It wasn't long before the others took notice of the sight as well, and they stared at the bodies in wonder. "As you might have known, it is required for both students and faculty of the Avatar School program to be paired with an avatar of their very own. Each avatar is a harmonious blend of your DNA and the DNA of this world's noble inhabitants, the Na'vi. Go right ahead take a look at them, you'll know which one belongs to you when you see one that bears your resemblance!" The elementary students didn't hesitate to rush forward, followed by the adolescents; all of them were eager to check out their avatar bodies. "If you have a hard time finding your avatar," Pegasus added, "you can ask a TERF scientist to guide you there." The scientists who worked with the avatars, the few humans in TERF who don't have their own, greeted the newcomers and helped guide them to the body they were looking for. Each of the newcomers were truly amazed at how the avatars looked so much like a Na'vi version of themselves.

"Hey! There's mine!" Jonouchi exclaimed, clamoring near the tank holding his avatar. And he couldn't help but feel pleased with the results; it was very much a Na'vi version of himself, head to toe, although the hair color was a dark brown. But there were details, he noticed, that made an avatar different from a true Na'vi: For starters, the avatars have five digits on their hands and feet, and the size of the eyes were smaller. And avatars have eyebrows, whereas the Na'vi do not. Of course, like the future drivers around him, Jonouchi didn't mind. "Whoa… the pride that fills you up when you finally meet your other body… I guess now I know how a first-time mom would feel."

"Um… it's not exactly a baby." Honda noted.

"Yeah, so?" Jonouchi huffed.

"Katsuya?" Shizuka queried, "Do you see my avatar?"

Jonouchi smiled, gazing at his sister's Na'vi self next to his own. "I do Shizuka… and I can't wait for you to try it out!"

Meanwhile, Sugoroku sped by to meet up with one of the lead scientists responsible for the synchronizing process. He was of African American decent, with light brown skin, a thick mustache and a curly beard and afro. The nametag on his lab jacket read, "Max Patel". "Max!" the old man called out, followed by his two grandsons, Anzu, Norm, and surprisingly, the Kaiba brothers.

Max looked up from his work and greeted them with a cheerful smile. "Hey Dr. Mutou! Good to see you!"

"Same with you, Max." Sugoroku replied.

"Say, those two kids look a lot like you." Max noted, seeing the Mutou brothers. "Are they your family, by any chance?"

"That they are." The old explorer led Atem and Yugi closer. "These are my grandsons, Atem and Yugi. They're the ones who are going to attend Avatar High School."

Max grinned and stated to the twins, "Well, it's an honor to finally meet you! Your grandpa told me all about you!" Then he initiated a handshake to Yugi. "Welcome to Pandora!"

"Thanks Dr. Patel." Yugi greeted likewise.

Seto stepped toward the tank that held his avatar, marveling at the sleek perfection of its frame. "Damn, it got big!"

"Whoa, cool!" Mokuba gasped.

"Yeah, it takes time for it to mature like this." Norm explained. "At least the kids twelve years and younger don't have to wait as long. Still, no matter what the age, it's clear the proprioceptive Sims worked pretty well."

"Not to mention the fact that it's got good muscle tone." Max added. "It'll take a few hours to get them out of those tanks, but you're gonna take them out for a ride tomorrow."

"Whoop-dee-doo." Seto stated sarcastically, rolling his eyes in disgust.

Max ignored the comment, turning his attention back to the Mutou brothers. Namely, Atem. "Atem, right? I guess you're wondering why you're here."

"Yes." Atem answered.

"Well, the answer lies in your brother's avatar." He pointed to a tank behind the teenagers. "It's over there." Atem, Yugi and Anzu turned around, and their eyes widened in surprise.

"No way!" Anzu gasped, rushing toward the tank containing Yugi's avatar. "Yugi… there's **two** of them!"

Indeed, there were two avatars sleeping in one single tank. One was floating face down above the other, its head resting by the feet of the other and vice versa. In fact, each was clinging to the leg of the other.

"Yep." Max replied, "To make a long story short, the cells used to make Yugi's avatar unexpectedly split in two, and they basically became a set of twins. At first, we were at a loss as to what to do, since this has never happened before. It was your grandfather who made the suggestion to bring you here, Atem, since you're the twin brother of Yugi, and both of your DNA is a copy of each other. And so, here you are now." The scientist then turned toward Anzu. "Anyway, Anzu, yours is over to the right of you."

The girl rushed over to get a good look at her Na'vi self, not far away from her new friends. "Oh wow! It's so beautiful!" But Atem barely heard her. The disabled boy wheeled around the tank, taking a closer look at the twin avatars. Both of them were well muscled, and the spiky black hair was shaped similarly to that of their drivers—except they were a long wild mane that reached to their hips. Still, he could see the distinctive black lightning-shaped bangs, telling him exactly who they belong to.

"They look like you, Yugi." Atem commented as his brother stood by him.

"No." Yugi corrected, "They look like us. Your avatar's the one on the bottom." Sure enough, Atem saw that the one floating face up underneath its twin bore a stronger resemblance to him than it does to his brother. The body made a sudden movement on reflex, then became still once more. Atem smiled at the sight. A moving, working body… that was the one thing he hoped to regain.

* * *

Hours later, after the new students were rounded up, Pegasus passed a computer tablet to each individual. "Okay now," Norm announced, "As the newest member of the school faculty, I feel it's my responsibility to tell you about your logbooks. They're basically your digital journal; you can write in them, draw on them, and if you like you can do a video log. You can record your thoughts and take notes for study in the classes you'll be attending soon. I highly suggest from experience, that you use the log while the thoughts in your head are still fresh. It'll really come in handy when it comes to studying for those tests."

As Pegasus handed the tablet to Atem, he pulled out a mechanical arm and attached it to the computer on his student's wheelchair. "There you go Atem Boy." Pegasus stated, plugging the tablet and positioning it in front of the disabled boy, "Since you're unable to use your arms in this body, this device will allow you to use your logbook with your brain waves. And it's adjustable, so you can move it to the side of your wheelchair when you're not using it."

"Thank you." Atem replied.

"Don't mention it. Anyway, since you and Yugi Boy are the grandsons of the great Sugoroku Mutou, I'm going to give you a 'back stage pass' to meet the president of TERF's Pandora branch, who is also the principal of Avatar High."

"You mean that, Mr. Crawford?" Yugi asked in excitement.

"Why of course! And please, call me Pegasus outside the classroom."

Atem busied himself putting the new technology to the test. He stared at the screen with a hopeful smile. "Well, I guess here we are… going to school… in a brand new world. Hopefully, I'll be able to move forward."

* * *

Note: And so the stage is set! In the next chapter, Atem and Yugi meet TERF's president in the Pandora branch. Guess who she happens to be? Later, they and the newcomers link up to their avatars for the first time, and they meet some more teachers, including a certain jarhead who, in this tale, plays the role of an assistant school coach! How will it go? You'll just have to wait and find out! Until next time!


	2. First Steps in a New Body

Note: And just like that, the next chapter is complete! Wow, I'm on a roll right now! Just to let you know, there's going to be some Na'vi language going on, so if you don't know what's being said look at the translations at the bottom. Anyway, in the last chapter, Atem and his brother had finally arrived on Pandora and are now on their way to meeting the big names in TERF. What's going to happen once the twins and their new friends link up for the first time? Be prepared as they spend their first day in their avatars! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2: First Steps in a New Body**

In the faculty link room at TERF headquarters, several link beds shifted out of their holes, overseen by the scientists. The hatches opened one by one, revealing its occupants. A kindly old man with a long beard and dressed in the clothes of a Native American Navaho approached the last link bed as it opened to reveal a woman in her fifties. She sat up, her short red hair billowing over, and groaned. "Grace?" the old man queried, reading himself to help. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The woman, Grace Augustine, answered, putting a hand on her forehead. "Ohhh God!" Then she looked up, dropping her arm. After a pause, she got off, held out her hand with fingers curling and uncurling. "Who's got my goddamn cigarette?!" she snapped, "Guys?! What's wrong with this picture?!" As if on cue, a distinguished-looking old professor came by, with said cigarettes in hand. "Thank you!" Grace stated, taking a stick to puff.

"To make it clear, this the last time I'm helping you feed that habit, Dr. Augustine." The old professor, Arthur Hawkins, replied sternly, "I mean, seriously! You need to quit smoking, if not for the sake of your own health, then for the sake of our students! With your reputation as hero and role model, you'll pass yourself off as a bad example!"

"Don't think I don't know that, Arthur!" Grace groaned, "You know how hard it is to kick a bad habit." Arthur only let out a sigh.

At the same moment, Sugoroku entered the link room, along with his two grandsons, Pegasus, Max and Norm. "Grace Augustine is the greatest legend in TERF next to Sugoroku and Akhenamkhanen!" Norm stated, obviously going into fanboy mode, "Not only is she the president of the Pandora branch, she wrote the book—I mean, **literally** wrote the book—on Pandoran flora!"

"Well, that's because she like plants better than people." Max noted. "Pegasus, on the other hand…"

"Oh please, Maxie Boy!" Pegasus chuckled, "You know I prefer children over adults!"

"What gave that away?" Max teased, "The fact that you're an elementary art teacher in your avatar body?"

Sugoroku chuckled at his friends' antics. "All right settle down!" It wasn't long before the group took notice of the aforementioned president of TERF's Pandora branch.

"Ah!" Pegasus gasped, "And here she is! Cinderella back from the ball!"

Grace looked up and smiled. "Hey there, Peggy! Sugoroku!" She shook hands with her two friends and fellow members. "What brings you here at the start of a new school semester?"

"Grace, I've brought you a couple of people I want to introduce." Sugoroku replied cheerfully. "First of all, meet our new Avatar High School culture studies teacher, Norm Spellman."

The TERF president gave a friendly glance to the new teacher in question. "Norm… I've heard good things about you, especially from Ironheart."

The wise man in Navajo garb, Ironheart, stepped forward with a gladdened smile. "Ah, the man to whom I've chosen to pass my torch! We meet at last!" After shaking hands with his protégé, he asked, "So Norm, how is your Na'vi?"

Norm gave his answer in the Na'vi tongue, "Awvea ultxari oengeyä, nawma sa'nok lrrtok sivei."

Grace responded likewise with approved criticism, "Tsun tivam. Aylì'u ngian nì'it skepek lu."

Norm bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Zìsìt amrr ftolia oe, slä zene fko nivume nìtxan."

"Uh, Yugi?" Atem asked his brother, "What are they saying?"

"No idea." Yugi replied, "But I have a feeling that we'll find out soon enough."

"Excuse me," Sugoroku stated suddenly, "I don't mean to interrupt your conversation in the Na'vi language, but…"—he directed the TERF president to the Mutou brothers—"Grace, Ironheart, these are my grandsons, Atem and Yugi Mutou."

Grace's eyes lit up when she saw the younger twin. "Yugi! It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Oh, I'm honored!" Yugi replied, "Grandpa had told me tons of stories about you!"

The TERF president chuckled pleasantly. "That he did! So, are you ready to soak that little sponge of yours with Na'vi knowledge?"

"Ha ha, you bet!"

"Um, Grace?" Max stated, leaning toward the disabled elder twin. "This is Atem."

"Hello Dr. Augustine." Atem greeted as politely as he could. Upon seeing him, the smile disappeared from Grace's face, and became a disapproving frown. _That's not good._ Atem thought.

"Yeah, I've heard of you." Grace growled, "The vigilante wannabe, who wasn't allowed to come here due to the carelessness and recklessness of his behavior. Of course, the end result of that behavior is painfully obvious, but… *sigh* What was your father thinking, changing his mind like that?!"

"He didn't change his mind." Atem answered sadly, "He's dead." He bowed his head in shame. "The soldiers of RDA killed him."

Upon hearing this, Grace looked upon him in disbelief. "So it's true, then? Those rumors about that incident back on Earth, about the destruction of the Gaia's Embrace homeless shelter?"

"…It's true." Atem confirmed.

"Oh God!" Grace groaned, "No wonder I haven't from Akhenamkhanen in recent months! This is yet another reason why you should have stayed on Earth like you're supposed to!" The harshness of those words was enough to make the disabled boy flinch.

"Grace, please!" Ironheart stated, "Don't be so harsh on the boy! He's got enough salt in his wounds already!"

"Ironheart's right." Sugoroku agreed, "Atem has come here seeking a second chance. Why not give it to him just as we have given it to Jake Sully?"

"Jake Sully?" Yugi asked in confusion.

The TERF president stared deep into Atem's eyes, considering her friend's words. She asked, "How much did you study in science class back on Earth?"

"About half as much as Yugi did." Atem admitted, "The memories of those lessons are a blur, but I clearly remember helping him dissect a young pig at one time."

There was a tense pause. Finally Grace spoke. "Well, at least he's not a lost cause."

"Dr. Augustine?" A staff member interrupted, "There's a man trying to get in contact with you through On-screen Communications. One Parker Selfridge."

"What?! Again?!" Grace snapped, "Ugh! Goddamn RDA scum! Always trying to piss on us without the courtesy of calling it rain! If you'll excuse me!" And with that, she left in a huff.

Max sighed in exasperation and faced the Mutou brothers. "Newcomer's link room, tomorrow, 8 A.M. Try to use big words."

"I doubt that would work." Atem stated, once again bowing his head sadly as the scientist left. "Even Grace Augustine hates me. And who could blame her?"

"Oh Atem, you don't know that!" Ironheart reassured. "She may come off as abrasive to some, but she cares deeply about the students who take part in her school program. She'll certainly warm up to you if you let her." He gently patted the disabled boy's shoulder. "Now rest up. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you."

Even though he wasn't convinced of Ironheart's words, Atem still couldn't help but smile.

* * *

At a control center overlooking the Hell's Gate compound, the sentries were busy with their navigation. One man in particular, dressed with office clothes and sporting a clean haircut, was playing a game of golf in front of the large monitor. Parker Selfridge, an RDA administrator under Dartz's command, made a putt toward an empty mug, and celebrated as the golf ball sank in for a "hole-in-one". "A-ha ha ha, right on!" Parker shouted, as he went over to retrieve the ball. "Did you see that?"

"Yes sir!" a worker answer.

"No you didn't," He chuckled, "You were looking at the monitor!"

"Heads up Mr. Selfridge." Another worker announced, "TERF-holder approaching the screen!" Sure enough, Grace Augustine was seen stomping toward the screen. As they always expected, she was royally pissed.

"About time." Parker grunted.

"Parker!" Grace snapped, crossing her arms, "How many times do you need to try and stick your nose where it doesn't belong?! You know very well what my answer's going to be!"

"Well, Miss Queen of Treehuggers," Parker mocked, readying himself for another putt, "We tend to be a persistent bunch." Right when he was about to swing, there was a loud "HONK", and the administrator's putt turned into a wild swing which sent the golf ball flying, causing the workers to duck and dodge to avoid the projectile before it ricocheted on the holo-computers before landing in a filled coffee mug, splashing the contents on the desk of one worker. An annoyed Parker looked up to see Grace holding an air horn.

"Oops." She stated mockingly as she put the air horn away.

"Very funny…" Parker mumbled.

"Really, this is getting old!" Grace continued, "Every time new students arrive at my school, you had to worm your way through the net and demand we tell your corporation our secrets! Where's your great leader? Why doesn't he come over and face me?! Is he too chicken for a direct confrontation?"

"My, my! What a challenging tone!" a smooth voice echoed suddenly. Parker and the other workers turned around to see their boss striding toward them.

"M-Mr. Dartz!" Parker stuttered in awe.

Grace glared as her rival and arch enemy came into view. "So… the snake has finally decided to rear his ugly head."

"Your tongue is as sharp as my workers say it is, Grace Augustine." Dartz stated with a smirk. "It would give Akhenamkhanen a run for his money in verbal jousts. Too bad we had to put him to sleep like the rabid dog he is. Of course, the destruction of that little hut was an additional bonus in my perspective."

"There were families in that shelter you destroyed on Earth!" Grace noted disapprovingly, "There were children! Babies! Is it any wonder why the majority of people back on Earth hate RDA butchers like you?"

Dartz only gave wicked chuckle. "Those peasants are of no concern for me. In fact, they should be thankful that we improved their society!"

"'Improved their society,' my ass!" Grace shot back.

Dartz paused in amusement. "Don't believe me?"—he turned toward the administrator—"Parker, show her exhibit A!"

"Yes Sir!" Parker answered and rushed toward his personal office. When he came back, he was holding what appeared to be an uneven piece of metal in the shape of a rock crystal. "This is why we're here, Nature Girl!" Parker stated, holding the stone up on display, "Unobtanium! Because this little gray rock sells for 20 million a kilo!"

He tossed the unobtanium piece to his boss, where it started floating on the small superconductive tablet that he took out of his pocket and held in the palm of his hand. "Ah yes, it's a beautiful gem!" Dartz cooed admiringly, "I much prefer orichalcos crystals myself, but this has much more value in its usefulness. It is what pays for the economy in the megacities. It certainly would have proved useful to your little organization by paying for your research." He placed the tablet onto a nearby desk, setting the unobtanium like it was a decorative paperweight. "But no! You insist that you have no need for such a thing! It's such a horrid waste of a valuable resource!"

"Oh please!" Grace replied, "While you and your Dead Zone barons were busy stuffing your pockets with your unobtanium trade, TERF has made technological advances that draw circles over your corporation and help clean up all the environmental messes you made at the expense of others!"

"Whatever." Dartz stated, his expression becoming a frown of annoyance. "My point is this: You and your barbarian friends are in the way of our operation! Knowing you, the last thing you need is a war that threatens to destroy your base of operations, and so I'm trying to offer you a diplomatic solution to this problem. All we ask of you is some information in regards to the blueskins."

"Sorry Dartz, but you know the number one rule of TERF policy: Never disclose any intimate details about the Na'vi to those in league with the RDA! It's also the golden rule of my school program."

"Ah yes! Your beloved school program, where you earn the trust of those barbarians by taking their appearance and learning their ways."

"Yeah, I remember the first school you built for these savages, to teach them English and Japanese in the attempt to form an alliance," Parker added, "But after what? Ten years? Heh! What a bust that had been!"

"Yeah, that tends to happen when people like you pull machine guns at them." Grace reminded, "And by the way, after three years the people of TERF have since restored our alliance with every Na'vi clan around our territory."

"Not every Na'vi clan." Dartz pointed out smirking.

"Yeah, we're working on that." Grace growled, "But whatever the case, as long as TERF is around, I can assure you that you will never lay a single finger of any of those Hometrees. They're under **our** protection!"

"Bold words, Grace Augustine." Dartz stated calmly. "If you cannot give us the information we desire, then we shall find another way to obtain it. We **will** lay claim to our prize Grace, and we will do it by any means necessary!" Grace huffed, and pushed the button to shut off the screen, disappearing from their view.

* * *

The next morning, at TERF's headquarters, the scientists were in the middle of cleaning out the now-empty tanks, have removed the new avatar bodies and dried them up. Each of the bodies now laid on a gurney, dressed in a hospital robe and being inspected for one last time. At the adjacent Newcomer's link room, the new students clamored inside, eager to try out their avatars. "Now children, settle down!" Pegasus stated to the younger students, "You'll get a chance to run about with the Na'vi soon enough!"

"Ah, so this is where we'll be linking up, eh?" Honda noted, peering at the link beds.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jonouchi cheered, "Let's get in there and start up our avatars!" But just as the sandy blonde was about to jump in like it was a sleeping mattress, Anzu stopped him.

"Hey slow down!" she scolded, "You need to take it step by step!"

"Okay Norm," Grace asked her newest staff member, "How much link time have you done?"

"About five hundred and twenty hours." Norm answered.

"Not bad." Sugoroku mused.

Grace turned a smile toward Yugi. "What about you, Yugi?"

"Over nine thousand." He stated.

"Nine thousand?!"

"Just kidding!" the younger twin laughed, "I did six hundred."

"Well, I'm impressed!" Grace chuckled, before turning her attention to the disabled older twin in a serious manner. "Atem, how much link time have you done?"

"None." Atem admitted meekly, "But I did read a manual on the way here."

Again with that look of disappointment. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Sorry…"

"You know, come to think of it," Grace noted suddenly, "You're starting to remind me of Jake Sully—only younger and not nearly as stupid."

_There's that name again._ Atem thought, _Who in the world is this 'Jake Sully' person?_ He'd figured he would ask that later, because right now it was time for him and the other newcomers to get ready for their first ever link-up.

"All right," Seto grunted as he laid himself down, "Let's get this over with." Honda and Jonouchi, on the other hand, were as quick to jump down into their own link beds. Then suddenly, Jonouchi sprang up.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about my sister! Hey Shizuka! You need any help?"

Shizuka smiled, feeling her way toward the gelatinous link bed in front of her. "No thanks Katsuya, I can do it." And as if to prove it, she climbed right in. At the same time, Sugoroku and Yugi were positioning themselves around Atem.

"Okay, ready?" Sugoroku instructed, "On the count of three. One, two three!" At the signal, they lifted the disabled boy out of the wheelchair and gently carried him over to his link bed. Once he was laid down, Pegasus began turning the link bed on.

"So Atem Boy," he stated, "You figured you would come here to attend school in the most hostile environment known to man, without any avatar training whatsoever, and see how it goes? What exactly is going on in that little head of yours anyway?"

Atem smiled. "Maybe I've just realized that I'm not welcome on Earth anymore. That I don't belong there." Pegasus stared at him in astonishment, but said nothing.

"Okay kids, arms to the sides!" Grace instructed as she inspected the drivers-to-be, "Head down! Down!" She pushed a hand on Honda's head, then Jonouchi's, moving them downward. "Now relax, and let your mind go blank." Then one by one, the lids of the link beds began to shut, starting with the elementary students. It didn't take long before the linkups started on the teenagers and teachers.

"Let your mind go blank, eh? That shouldn't be hard for you, Mutt." Seto mocked before vanishing.

"Shut up, Rich boy!" Jonouchi shouted angrily as the lid of his bed shut on him after Honda.

"Prepare for launch!" Grace shouted as the lid fell on Shizuka, then Anzu, then Yugi, and finally on Atem.

"Neural transfer starting." A Scientist announced. "Configuration at 10 percent."

Inside each of their link beds, the occupants prepared themselves for one last moment before their first linkup. "All right, stay calm," Jonouchi told himself, closing his eyes. "Just go with the flow." Atem looked around briefly in his link bed. Although his body couldn't feel it, he somehow had a sense of security flowing around him, almost like being back in his mother's womb.

"Configuration at fifty percent."

Max took a holo-computer, taking a 3D image of Atem's human head and brain. He walked toward the window that showed the avatars, admiring the image. "That's a gorgeous brain."

"So what else is new?" Grace replied with a smile.

"Configuration at seventy percent."

Sensing that it was time, Atem immediately shut his eyes and relaxed.

Sugoroku glanced at his friend with a merry look on his face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Grace revealed the same glimmer in her eyes. "Time to link up!" And the two of them headed toward their link rooms, just as the computers showed the activity that now filled the brains of the avatars.

"Configuration at ninety percent, link is stable."

* * *

A few seconds passed by, then suddenly Atem felt as though he were traveling through space, even though his body was still. From his mind's eyes he felt himself traveling down what appeared to be a tunnel of nebulous clouds, with electricity and shifting bright colors. Then suddenly it all became black. At first, he wondered if the link had worked. He couldn't feel anything different at first. Then gradually an incredible sensation flowed through his body. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, and the sound was soft. As his vision adjusted to brilliant clarity, he found himself looking up at two scientists. They were both wearing Exopacks. It suddenly dawned on him: he was breathing in the toxic air of Pandora, without an Exopack, and yet he was perfectly fine! Which could only mean…! Slowly, their voices became louder and clearer.

"At… Atem…? Atem, are you awake?"

One of the scientists put a light out to check his eyes. The pupils dilated from within an unusual set of red-orange irises. "Vision is good." He confirmed.

The other scientist snapped her fingers in front of a feline ear, then the other. Atem's new ears responded, moving in the direction of the sound. "Hearing is normal. How are you feeling Atem?"

At first, he didn't answer. His new eyes widened as the sensations continued to overflow. It didn't take long to realize exactly what those sensations happened to be… and a great sense of joy burst forth like a dam. "Where's Yugi?"

"I'm right here!" a familiar voice called out from right beside the left of him. He looked to the side, and was astonished to find a Na'vi version of Yugi, staring back at him with the same unusual pair of red-orange eyes.

"Yugi? Is that you?"

His little brother gave a big smile as he replied, "Yeah Brother! Whoa! You look amazing in that body!"

"Y-Yugi! I…"

"What is it? Spit it out!"

The older twin couldn't contain his excitement any longer. "…I can feel my arms! My legs too!"

Yugi nearly bolted up at the news. "Really?!"

"Yes!"

The scientist smiled as answered, "Welcome to your new body, Atem." As if to further confirm those words, Atem felt his fingers began to twitch and flex. "Wow, just look at them go! You can lift your arms if you want, but take it easy." The older Mutou twin concentrated hard. Slowly, he lifted his right arm. Then his left. He was amazed to look up at blue skinned limbs—his blue-skinned limbs—and smiled as he moved his new arms in the movements of a graceful dancer with seemingly no effort, marveling at the sight of his thumbs brushing against his wiggling fingers. He let out a laugh of joy.

Of course, the Mutou brothers weren't the only ones admiring their new avatar bodies. Anzu was gazing down at her new body, complete with matching shoulder-length black hair. "This is amazing! I wonder what I'll look like in a bikini?"

Meanwhile, a scientist was asking Norm to touch his fingers, which he did easily. "Yeah, no problem!"

"Check it out Jonouchi!" Honda shouted not far away, sporting the makings of a Mohawk. "Are we cool or what?!"

"Aw yeah, the Blue Dude Gang can eat our dust!" Jonouchi exclaimed, before peering at his prehensile tail. "Need to get used to the tail, though."

"Katsuya! Katsuya!" Shizuka cried out in amazement as she clumsily walked toward his brother, "Look! I can see! Oh Katsuya, you look incredible in that body!"

"Shizuka!" Jonouchi gasped, giving his sister a hug, overjoyed at the fact that she was not blind in her avatar body. "Thank you, TERF! Now I can finally show you the sights on Pandora! Trust me, Sis! I know you're gonna love it!"

At the same time, another scientist was checking the reflexes on Seto's avatar. "The reflexes are good." She assured.

Seto smirked, looking over his new Na'vi-like form "I'm impressed. This body does seem to have its advantages."

Mokuba, who had already linked up a minute before his brother, climbed out of his gurney to rest nearby. "See Big Brother? I told you it was awesome!"

Back with the Mutou brothers, Yugi had carefully maneuvered himself toward the floor. "Take it easy, Yugi. Baby steps." The scientist reminded him. Of course, Yugi wasn't paying attention; he was busy marveling at his brother's arm movements.

"Atem, see if you can sit up by yourself." He suggested. With that idea in mind, Atem lowered his arms and pressed his forearms against the gurney. Slowly, he pushed himself up, shifting his weight, and before he knew it, he was up and sitting, staring at his legs. His _moving_ legs!

"Oh! Look Yugi!" he gasped. Indeed, Yugi gasped at the sight.

"You're wiggling your toes! I haven't seen that for months! Although… I haven't seen them do anything like that before." Indeed, what Atem was doing with his toes was a bit unusual: on each foot his big toe was actually touching the tips of his other toes as they wiggled!

"Interesting." A scientist pointed out to another, "Are those opposable thumb-toes?"

"Hey!" Yugi stated suddenly, "Can you stand?"

Atem gave a confident smirk—a proud sight that Yugi feared he'd never see again. "Only one way to find out!" Taking his "caretakers" by surprise, he maneuvered himself to the edge of the gurney, allowing his new feet to touch the floor.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!" they warned, "Take it slow!" But he was paying no attention. He braced himself… and slowly, he stood up. It wasn't easy at first, but the older Mutou twin managed to keep his balance. It set the other scientists in a panic.

When Max, hearing the increasingly loud protests, looked up at the scene beyond the window, his eyes seemed to bug out. "Uh-oh… here we go again!"

Atem looked upon himself in sheer elation. It was the first time he had been on his feet in what was, to him, a long time. Even Yugi was up and about, seeing his brother literally standing tall and confident once again! "Wow! Look at you Big Brother! You can walk again!"

"Yeah…" Atem stated, taking a few tentative steps. It was then that he finally noticed the size of the frantic scientists around him. "Oh! They're so tiny compared to us now!" At that moment, his tail—he had a _**tail**_?!—rested upon his shoulder, as if it got a mind of its own.

"Ha ha ha! Atem, your tail!" Yugi laughed. This caused the older Mutou brother to turn around in search of his tail, while the appendage in question knocked down equipment, furniture, even a few people! He burst out laughing once he found it.

"SEDATE! SEDATE!" the scientist shouted. By then the commotion had caught the attention of the other new avatars.

"Guys, I'm fine!" Atem tried to reassure, pulling the IV tubes off.

"Atem! Atem!" Max called out with his microphone, and the older Mutou twin pressed his hand against the window to keep from falling. "Atem, listen to me! You're not used to your avatar body! This is dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Atem replied, "This is GREAT!"

"He's serious, Atem!" Norm warned, "They're gonna put you down!"

"Heh! I'd like to see them try!" And with that, he strode over to the exit, pushing the obstacles out of the way.

"Wait for me!" Yugi shouted, rushing after his brother.

"Help me get those off!" Norm declared, pulling at the IV monitors, "I'm going after them!"

"Hey! I'm coming with you!" Jonouchi stated.

"Me too!" Anzu added.

"Me three!" Honda declared. Of course, the scientists were already cutting to the chase, but by then, the twins were already heading toward the door to the exit.

"I can't believe it's happening again!" one of them exclaimed.

"Wait!" Shizuka exclaimed in surprise, "You mean this has happened before?!"

With no one to stop him, Atem burst through the door, with Yugi not far behind. He squinted at first, but as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he was met with a wonderful spectacle: A large outdoor gym and playground, filled with young avatar and Na'vi students going about with various activities. Not far away, two pairs of high school students, consisting of two avatars in gym uniforms and two Na'vi, were playing a game of basketball. Each team consisted on one Na'vi and one avatar, and they all seemed to be having a good time. "Oh, you ain't got no skill!" The female avatar taunted the opposing team, bouncing the basketball, before passing it to her Na'vi teammate, who promptly tossed it into the hoop.

"Whoa!" Atem gasped in amazement. Then Yugi did something rather unexpected.

"Hey!" he called out to the group, "Toss me that ball."

"Uh, okay." The male avatar replied in confusion before tossing the ball to the younger Mutou twin. He promptly dribbled the ball—then rushed over and pulled slam dunk from behind. The group whooped in approval before he and Atem rushed away.

"Ha ha ha, I've always wanted to do that!" Yugi beamed, "And think of all the other things we could so in these bodies! We'll get to play games again, just like we did when we were little!"

"Yugi! Atem!" Anzu's voice called out. In the corner of his eye, Atem noticed Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda rushing out, with Norm slightly ahead of them. They were not having an easy time staying up.

Atem smirked playfully. "Speaking of games, I know a good one we could play right now."

"What?" Yugi asked.

In response, he tapped his brother on the butt. "Tag! You're it!" and then broke to a run, laughing. It took a while, but the younger Mutou brother quickly realized what just happened.

"Why you-" Yugi growled, although he was grinning like a maniac. He cut to the chase, even as their other pursuers were right behind them. The twins managed to reach the obstacle course, when Yugi caught up. "Tag! You're it! Bet you can't catch me!"

"O-ho!" Atem shouted mischievously, "You're asking it!" Now it was the older brother pursuing the younger toward the field. But Norm and the others were already starting to gain on them.

"Boys?!" Norm shouted desperately, "Boys! You're not supposed to be running!"

_Me? Stop running? After being stuck in a wheelchair for who knows how long?_ Atem thought, _I don't think so!_ He picked up the pace, digging his opposable big toes into the soil with every step. He was running! Running free as a bird! He was running at such a fast pace that he nearly got run over by a Na'vi hunter riding a direhorse. But even that didn't stop his momentum. "Sorry!" Atem shouted. He barely had time to hear the Na'vi shout, "Uniltìranyu skxawng!" before he continued the sprint. It was the most exhilarating moment of his life! The sensation of bare feet pounding on the ground beneath him, the wind and sun against his face! For the first time since the death of his father, he was feeling free! Free from the visions of that horrific tragedy, free from the accusations that further shattered his broken spirit!

And that was the moment that truly filled him with hope. Perhaps he really could begin a new life from scratch here. Even back inside of his link bed, he was smiling. He didn't think any further in that matter, for his brother was in sight. Like a cheetah after its prey, he pounced. "GOTCHA!" He lifted Yugi up off of his feet, rubbing a fist against his head.

"AGH! NO, NO!" Yugi laughed, "NOT THE NOOGIES!" Eventually the noogies stopped, but the twins were in a fit of laughter. It was enough to lift both of their spirits.

The Atem grew alert. "Wait! Do you feel something?"

"Feel what?" Yugi asked growing concerned.

"What do you feel under you?"

The younger twin dug his toes in the soil, confused. "I dunno… all I feel is… well, dirt."

Then the older twin smiled. "Exactly!" Realizing what he was implying Yugi smiled as well.

The brotherly moment was soon interrupted, however, by a very familiar voice calling ahead of them. "Atem! Yugi!" Looking upward they saw a pair of avatars strolling down the stairs toward them. The female was tall and slim with a tank top and shorts, with short hair and a long braid. The male, on the other hand, was older and stocky, bearing a hairstyle similar to their own, as well as a T-shirt, a short jacket, hiking boots… and a very familiar bandana!

"Grandpa?!" Yugi gasped, somehow recognizing that figure.

"Right on the mark, my boy!" Sugoroku greeted.

Then the female let out a playful chuckle. "Looks very different without his mustache and beard, doesn't he? Of course, that's normal since Na'vi men never grow facial hair."

It was Atem who recognized the female avatar; her facial features had a very uncanny resemblance to her human body. "Dr. Augustine?"

"Well who did you expect, Simba?" Grace asked, acting all sassy. She then reached toward a tall bush-like plant nearby and plucked a strange fruit from it. "Think fast!" Before either twin could respond, the TERF president tossed the fruit right toward them, and Atem managed to catch it before it hit him or the ground. "Motor control is looking good! Now you really **do** remind me of Jake Sully!"

"Who's Jake Sully?" Atem queried.

"Hey! That's what I wanted to ask!" Yugi complained.

"Oh! Oh, yeah!" Grace stated, "You've never heard of him before, have you? Well, in that case I might as well introduce him to you."

"You mean that?" Yugi asked.

"Sure!" Sugoroku replied, plucking another one of the strange fruits. "But first, here's a welcoming gift." And he tossed it to Yugi, who caught it promptly. "That fruit you got in your hands is called a banana fruit, which the Na'vi call an 'utu mauti'. In the wild, this fruit grows high in the forest canopy, and is therefore a special treat for the Na'vi. So much so, that it's good luck to find a banana fruit uneaten on the ground."

"Whoa! A lucky fruit, huh?" Yugi mused.

"Yep! And that's why it's a tradition in the Avatar School Program to welcome new students and teachers with the gift of a banana fruit." Grace explained, "Normally we do that the morning after the first link, right before the Grand Tour. But since you guys already got the hang of your avatars, I'll let you eat right it now."

"Really? Thank you!" Atem replied.

Just then, Jonouchi shouted from behind, "What's this talk about a banana fruit?! It sounds tasty!" The twins turned around to find Norm, Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu all exhausted from the effort of the chase. Apparently, they've finally caught up with them.

"Wow," Norm panted, "You two got more energy than I give you credit for! Anyway, it's time to bring you back."

"No need Norm." Grace assured, "Let them have their fun."

"Hey, what that piece of fruit you got in your hands?" Honda asked, peering down at said fruit within the Mutou brother's clutches, "Is that the banana fruit Jonouchi's talking about."

"It does look good enough to eat." Anzu noted.

Grace chuckled, "Oh what the hey! Since you guys are up and about,"—she and Sugoroku plucked up four more banana fruits—"One banana fruit for each of you. Eat up, get dressed and you can meet some more of your teachers!"

"All right! I'm starving!" Jonouchi cheered once he got his hands on a fruit.

"No duh!" Honda agreed, "Chasing those Mutou brothers really had us work up an appetite!"

Atem, feeling hungry himself, took his first bite on his first Pandoran foodstuff. It had the taste of a banana, but it was as rich and juicy as a fresh ripe pineapple! "So, what do you think?" Sugoroku asked.

The eyes of the older Mutou twin lit up. "It's amazing!"

"Yeah! This is good!" Jonouchi agreed before stuffing his face in the rest of his fruit. The rest were busy savoring their first Pandoran meal.

"I guess the verdict is unanimous, huh?" Sugoroku stated.

* * *

After the group had dined on their lucky fare and dressed themselves in shorts and tank tops, Atem and his new friends were touring the outdoor gym with Grace. Elementary students, both Na'vi and avatars alike, were frolicking in the playground together, playing a variety of games. Looking at the scene around them, the group realized an important detail: For Na'vi students and for human students who already got their own avatar, this was their first day of school. A group of high school juniors were taking part in gym class, learning traditional Na'vi fighting techniques. Overseeing the training session was a woman in her early twenties. The five digits in her hands made it obvious that she was an avatar, and she wore long black hair with a long braid to her side, and summer gym clothes. One look at that woman and Jonouchi was practically drooling over her. "Whoa, what a babe!"

"Oh, that she is." Grace noted, "But don't underestimate her. One wrong move and she'll crack you in the nuts."

"If that's true," Honda stated, "Remind me not to get on her bad side." The avatar woman took notice and strode toward them.

"Hey, what's up Grace!" the woman greeted, "What brings you all the way out here?"

"Just giving a few new high school students a tour of the school grounds," Grace replied, "and searching for one teacher in particular. I figured he might be with you somewhere."

The avatar woman glanced at the group and gave a playful smirk. "Ah! So you must be the new kids in Pandora. Not a bad looking bunch! I'm Mai Kujaku, and I'm the school coach for Avatar High."

The teens eyes widened in amazement at Mai's words. "School coach?!" Jonouchi gasped in disbelief, "You're really **that** tough?!"

"You better believe it, hon!" Mai answered with a wink. She took hold of a cat ear plant hung around her neck and blew it like a whistle toward a group of young Na'vi students. "Kivä ko, tsamsiyu! 'Eko!" On her signal, a pair initiated a mock battle while the rest cheered them on.

Jonouchi whistled. "This is already getting better!"

"Anyway, Grace," Mai continued, "You say you're looking for a certain teacher around here? Let me go get him for you." She turned around to shout toward a male avatar wearing a gray T-shirt a pair of matching gym shorts and sneakers. "HEY! HEY! JARHEAD!" That got his attention.

"Who me?"

"YEAH, C'MERE! C'MERE! THERE'S SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MEET YOU!"

"Oh, right! I'm coming!" And soon the avatar rushed toward the group, though he was unsteady on his feet.

"Took you long enough." Mai muttered before she turned toward her new students. "Everyone, I present to you the new assistant coach of Avatar High, and the village idiot of TERF, Jake Sully."

"Hey guys," the avatar, Jake, greeted, holding out his hand, "It's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you too, Coach Sully." Atem replied, completing the handshake. "I'm Atem Mutou, and this is my twin brother, Yugi."

"Hello Coach." Yugi greeted.

"Are you guys related to Sugoroku?"

"He's our grandfather." Atem answered, "Anyway, Grace told me that I reminded her of you."

"You're one of the newcomers, right?" Jake asked.

"Yes."

"First time linking up to your avatar, right?"

"Yes. And I-"

"Wait, don't tell me! Let me guess." There was a slight pause. "I got it! You got so excited about your new body that you ran out of the lab like a bat out of hell, didn't you?"

Now all the teenagers were truly amazed, especially Atem. "How did you know?!"

"Simple! I know that feeling from personal experience." Jake replied smugly, "In fact, I did the exact same thing when _**I**_ linked up for the first time. And that happened only _two days ago_!"

"What?! No WAY! Are you serious?!"

Grace chuckled and confirmed, "True story. He's been here for about a year now, but it's only recently that he's become an avatar driver."

"Wow, only recently?' Anzu gasped.

"I wonder what he has been doing for the past year before that…" Honda muttered.

"Anyway," Jake continued, "I can see why Grace would start comparing you to me, Atem. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that you and I are gonna get along just fine."

Atem smiled. "Somehow you took those words right out of my mouth, Coach."

"By the way, Mai," Grace interrupted, "Are you going with us on the Grand Tour for guard duty tomorrow?"

"Sorry Grace," Mai answered, "Not this time. I promised Lani over there some one-on-one lessons. But don't worry. Jake's gonna go in my place; he needs to know his way around the forest anyway."

"I won't argue with that." Grace agreed, "With this body, one idiot with a gun isn't so hard for me to handle."

"A gun?" Honda gasped, "You can use guns, Coach? Cool!"

"Yeah, I may not look like much," Jake admitted, "but before I came to Pandora, I used to be a Marine."

"Oh, so that explains why they called you 'Jarhead'." Yugi reasoned.

"Leave it to the guys at TERF to give me a nickname that's both endearing and insulting at the same time." Jake added.

"Well if you're gonna go with us to that Grand Tour you guys are talking about," Jonouchi noted, "That means we'll be seeing you again tomorrow! And I, for one, am looking forward to it!"

"Yeah, so am I." Jake.

"All right Jarhead," Mai reminded, "Time to get back to work! We don't want to keep the kids waiting, you know."

"Oh, sure!" Jake replied and followed his 'boss' back to the field, but not before turning back and shouting, "I'll see you guys later!"

Atem turned toward his brother. "You know, I really like that guy."

"Yeah, me too!" Yugi replied, "I can't wait to see him tomorrow!"

"Okay kids," Grace reminded, "Let's continue with our little tour, shall we?"

* * *

Later that evening, after the tour was over, Arthur Hawkins, in his avatar, was helping Sugoroku lead the teens to one of the trees dotting the school grounds. "This is what we at TERF would like to call a Dormtree." Arthur explained, "As you can see, it based on the style of an actual Na'vi Hometree, although the real thing much, much larger. Each school in the program has their own Dormtree to accommodate students of all ages; all of them were planted and donated by the members of the Tompatanhi Clan as a symbol of their friendship. History aside, this will be your home for your avatar bodies." As the group entered the Dormtree for the students of Avatar High, they could see their future classmates wandering the branches. "There is a fire pit for cooking, and a place for crafts like pottery and textiles." Turning toward the side, Arthur's eyes lit up at the sight of a little girl avatar playing with some clay. "Oh, hi Rebecca!"

The girl, Rebecca, waved her hand. "Hi Grandpa!"

"Heh heh heh, such a gifted child! Anyway," Arthur continued, leading the newcomers up a spiral path, "Near the top of the Dormtree, you will find your 'Eywa k'sey nivi'bri'sta' or hammocks. This is where your avatars will be sleeping when not in use." Once they reached the sleeping quarters, Atem and the others could see hammocks of various sizes hanging on many branches. Many of the teens were already on their way to retiring to bed for their avatars and preparing to return to their human lives. "Now, notice how the hammocks are gathered together like this. This is because the Na'vi usually sleep in groups. Norm Spellman will tell you more on the subject in the days to follow."

"All right then," Jonouchi reasoned, "let's hit the hay!" And he tried to jump right into one of the hammock—only to spin and fall out into the ground. The other high school students burst into uproarious laughter, much to the annoyance of the young underdog. "Oh hardy har har, as if you haven't fallen out of your bed at one time!"

"Come now, everyone" Sugoroku stated, "We can't keep your teachers waiting." The others proceeded to climb carefully into their individual hammocks, with Atem's being sandwiched between that of his brother and Anzu.

"What's wrong Atem?" Anzu noted, "You look so sad."

"Oh, well…" Atem replied hesitantly, "Going to sleep here means going back to my human body… back to being a ragdoll on wheels. I don't want that."

"Oh, there's no need to worry." Anzu reassured, "We've made the bond between ourselves and our avatars, and now that we tried them out, the link is permanent. It doesn't matter which link bed you use, because you'll always link up to your own avatar and no one else's. So you want to go back to your avatar, you're always free to do so."

"Anzu is right, my boy." Sugoroku added, "So don't be sad because you're leaving this body, be happy because you'll always be coming back."

The older Mutou brother smiled. "Thanks everyone. I'll make sure to remember that."

At the same time, Yugi had just climbed into his hammock and was adjusting himself to make himself comfortable. Once he did, he took hold of his braid—and grew stiff with fear when he saw something on the very tip.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Upon hearing the younger twin scream, the avatars that didn't shift back were clamoring about, wondering what was going on. Arthur immediately rushed to Yugi's side, followed by his granddaughter. "Yugi!" Arthur shouted in concern, "What's wrong?"

"THERE'S WORMS IN MY HAIR!" Yugi screamed.

"Worms?" Atem asked.

"YES!" He pointed toward what appeared to be wriggling worms by his side. "LOOK, SEE?! THEY'RE CRAWLING AT THE TIP OF MY BRAID!"

"Lemme see that!" Rebecca stated, picking up Yugi's braid. The sight of the "worms" still wriggling about at the very tip of the braid was unsettling. At least until the little girl started laughing. "A-ha ha ha ha! They're not worms!"

"They're not?" Yugi asked in confusion, "T-then what are they?"

"These are the neural tendrils that make up part of your queue."

Yugi took hold of his braid to examine the tendrils. "My queue?"

"Yeah! The whole braid is actually a sheath that hides the queue within. It's not unusual." Rebecca answered, and held up the braid that rested by her hair. "See, I have one too!"

Witnessing the conversation, Atem suddenly wondered about his own braid and picked it up to examine it. Sure enough, there it was. "Hey! I have a queue as well!" he gasped in wonder.

"Yes!" Arthur explained with a smile, "Here in Pandora, all living things have a form of neural connection with which they interact with the world around them, including the Na'vi. As a matter of fact, the Na'vi actually use their queues as a part of their daily life. So it's not surprising that all avatars have queues as well, because they are Na'vi hybrids."

"So this is normal?" Atem asked.

"Of course! It's perfectly normal!"

"I see… Oh! Before I forget—Professor Hawkins? Take a look at my feet." The older twin swung his legs so that his feet were toward the old professor. "Now, look at this." And he repeated the moments he did back at the lab.

Arthur stared at the toes in fascination. "Amazing! Big toes functioning like opposable thumbs!"

"I know! Is that normal?"

The old professor had a thoughtful look. "Well… yes, **if** you are a true Na'vi. But avatars like you usually don't have that trait. Even Yugi's avatar doesn't have opposable toes, and your avatar is his twin! What is it about this body's genetics that makes it different from all the others?" He let out a sigh, puzzled by this genetic conundrum. "Oh well, there's always time to solve this mystery. Right now, though, it is time to unplug. I will see you again in TERF headquarters."

"See you later everyone!" Rebecca called out as she and her grandfather departed, "Or as we avatars say to each other, 'From one dream to another, may we meet again!'"

Atem repositioned himself so as to lie down in his hammock. By then, all the other avatars around him were drifting off as if to sleep. "So even in this body, I'm the odd man out. Go figure…" Then, with resignation, he reluctantly closed his eyes and rested himself.

* * *

In almost an instant, Atem was back inside the link bed, wide awake and once more in his broken human form. Initially, he thought, _Was it all just a dream?_ But the memories were still as clear as day in his mind, and so vividly real! The lid of his link bed opened up, and Yugi was there with Max and Pegasus, lifting him up. "Welcome back." Max greeted. There was nothing much else to say; the disabled boy was lifted out and back into his wheelchair.

"C'mon Brother," Yugi stated, "Once Grandpa's out of the link, we're going straight to the apartment near Avatar High School so we can finish unpacking. Don't worry. We'll be linking up again tomorrow."

Atem smiled at his brother's reassurance. "I know, Yugi." he replied, "That's what I'm looking forward to the most."

* * *

Note: And there you have it with this chapter! Before anything else, here's the translations of the Na'vi phrases for those who don't know the language:

**Awvea ultxari oengeyä, nawma sa'nok lrrtok sivei**\- "May the Great Mother smile upon our first meeting."

**Tsun tivam. Aylì'u ngian nì'it skepek lu**\- "Not bad! You still sound a bit too formal, though."

**Zìsìt amrr ftolia oe, slä zene fko nivume nìtxan**\- "I studied for five years, but there is much to learn."

**Uniltìranyu skxawng!**\- "Dreamwalker Moron!" (That's as close as I could get to "Stupid dreamwalker!")

**Kivä ko, tsamsiyu! 'Eko!**\- "Let's go, warrior! Attack!"

Keep in mind in mind that I would not always use the actual Na'vi language in certain dialogues. The reason will become clear in later chapters. Anyway, in the next chapter, there's a meeting between Dartz and his new recruits, joined by a certain trigger-happy right hand man. What evil plan do they have in mind? Also, the students take part in the Grand Tour, but what will happen when predators separate Atem and his new friends and they get lost in unfamiliar surroundings? Until next time!


	3. The Grand Tour

Note: All right! After a few little kinks, I finally got this new chapter done! In this chapter, evil is afoot, and meanwhile the Grand Tour begins! But then nature is about to mess up the schedule, and someone's going to end up lost in the jungle! Who is going to be? Read and find out! Enjoy!

Warning: Some swearing ahead.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Grand Tour**

"Aw man!" Amelda gasped in wonder, "When you guys pack up the heat, you **really** pack up the heat!" It was understandable; he, along with Varon and Raphael, was walking down the Hell's Gate port bay with their new boss, Dartz, passing by a group of AT-99 Scorpion Gunships, just a fraction of several military vehicles used by RDA soldiers. Needless to say, even the Australian biker and the military strongman were impressed by the sight.

Dartz merely smirked. "Why of course! My men and women aren't the only ones who travel through the skies, and compared to the more expensive Dragon Gunships, they're not exactly the largest either."

"I presume the reason has to do with the wildlife around here, right?" Raphael guessed.

"Oh!" Varon stated, "If that's the case, I'll work on one of the door guns if you're a bloke short, Boss."

"No thanks." Dartz declined, "I have something more important planned for you than just front line defense. We just need to meet up with my right hand man first."

"That's fine," Varon replied, "Where is your right hand man anyway?"

"Where else?" Dartz answered knowingly. It didn't take long for the trio and their boss to reach the nearby weight training room—and its current occupant, a middle aged muscular man in an army tank in pants much like Raphael. He was not as big as the military strongman, but it was clear that he was pretty strong, lying on his back and lifting a large dumbbell. Peeking beyond the movements, the new recruits could make out a tough-as nails facial structure, and three long scars running down from the side of his head, marring even the silver-white buzz cut. Dartz strode toward the open doorway. "Colonel Miles Quaritch… I'm not surprised to find you here, as usual."

"Oh well, you shouldn't be, Mr. Dartz." The man, Miles Quaritch, replied in a heavy southern accent, "This low gravity… will make ya soft! You get soft-"—he put down the dumbells and sat up to face the group in front of him—"Pandora will shoot you out dead with zero warning."

"Heh, heh, heh, that is too true!" Dartz chuckled, "And that's one of the reasons why I chose you to be my right hand man. Anyway, I would like to introduce you to our new recruits, Varon, Amelda and Raphael."

"Ah, Raphael!" Quaritch noted, turning his attention toward the military strongman, "I know about you! You were pretty tough as a kid, spending at least three years on a desert island before your family found you and brought you back to civilization. And then you joined the army after that just to escape the publicity. I picked up some of those records; Venezuela… that was some mean bush! Amazing that you came out in one piece! It's nothing like here, though." The Colonel gave a wicked smirk, which nearly matched that of his boss. "You and the other two got a lot of guts, coming to this kind of a neighborhood."

Raphael nodded. "Figured it would be another hell hole, although I admit Sophia and Julian see it as more of a playground."

"And don't forget Miruko!" Amelda added.

"I get what you guys are talkin' about." Quaritch replied, rising up from his seat. "I was First Recon myself, a few years ahead of you, maybe more than that." He walked passed the recruits, and they followed as he continued, "Three tours of Nigeria? Not a scratch. I come out here…"—he pointed to his scars—"Day one, and I felt like a shaved tail! If that ain't enough, I once had a grunt under my wing about a year ago; he went rouge in the middle of his first mission, and the other soldiers chased him into the woods. He was never seen again after that, and by now we all figured that he was dead. Good riddance, I say! Anyway…" He climbed up to a nearby AMP suit and started working at it like a mechanic. "Those docs could fix me up when I rotated back, and make me pretty again. But you know what? I kinda like this look! Reminds me of what's out there. And it makes me look… badass, as Mr. Dartz would put it."

"I could see why, Mate!" Varon agreed.

"Scars and army history aside," Dartz interrupted, "I have brought you three here for some very important business in regards to TERF's Avatar School Program."

"Yeah," Quaritch grunted, as he boarded his AMP suit, "The way I see it, that Avatar Program's a bad joke! A bunch of limp-dick science majors passing off as grade-school professors… But they got some vital information about the Na'vi, information we need, and they refuse to give us even a single detail. Recently, though, we have realized that the Program itself presents an opportunity that's both timely and unique—CLEAR!" With that he turned on the switch and the engines on the back of the suit blared like the engine of a jet. He continued his explanation as he put on his seatbelts and equipped his finger sensors. "Every new kid that comes here to take part in that program is like the equivalent of a recon gyrene in an avatar body. That's a potent mix, and it gives me the goosebumps just thinkin' about it! Because somewhere among that bunch, there's one that may provide us with the intel we're looking for, right on the ground… right in hostiles' camp!"

The trio of recruits gaped in surprise. "What?!" Amelda gasped, "What do you mean by that?!"

"You know what I'm talkin' about." Quaritch answered, "See, these little shits… they have an advantage over us… they get to _learn_ these savages from the inside and gain their trust. And that's when it dawned on me and the boss: If we can't extract what we need from the TERF-holders, then maybe we can get one of their kids to speak up—especially the new kids in town."

"That's where you three come in." Dartz stated.

"Okay… what is it that you want us to do?" Varon asked.

"First of all, I would like for each of you to sneak into TERF headquarters the day after the Grand Tour which takes place tomorrow." Dartz explained, "Learn as much as you can about the newcomers, and focus on the ones with the most…potential. When you feel the time is right, provide them with the opportunity to make a deal."

"Oh, so you want us to play the 'Serpent of Eden', eh?" Raphael assumed with the smirk.

Dartz chuckled wickedly in confirmation. "If that doesn't work, I don't know what will! Of course, you must also inform us of anything unusual that goes on at the school, if necessary. So are you willing?"

"Hell yeah, Sir." Raphael answered.

"No problem!" Amelda added. "As long as my brother doesn't get involved."

"Yeah Mate, you can count on us!" Varon replied.

Quaritch smirked. "Well, all right then." The Colonel shook his hand to activate the sensors. Immediately, the AMP suit sprang to life, and he threw a few test punches before facing the trio again. "Boys, Mr. Dartz looks after his own. You succeed in helping us get a kid to spill the beans, and the boss and I will see to it that you get handsomely rewarded. And I mean, _big time_."

"If it can give my brother and sister a college scholarship," Raphael stated, "it sound good to me." Satisfied with the answer, Quaritch lowered the protective visor on his AMP suit and walked away.

* * *

The following Morning, at the link room of Avatar High, the new students were preparing themselves for the Grand Tour. Some of them were once again drilled on the instructions on how to work the link beds. In the meantime, Yugi and Anzu were once again helping Atem onto his link bed, while Sugoroku was preparing the launch. "I heard there's going to be a nature walk somewhere along the tour." Anzu noted, "It's supposed to get us acquainted to our new surroundings, since we'll be learning side by side with kids from various Na'vi clans."

"Yeah, that's just another reason I look forward to this!" Yugi stated, "I mean, where else can you get a chance to see Pandoran animals in their natural habitat—or get a chance to make friends with a Na'vi?"

Sugoroku smiled sadly to himself. _Where else, indeed!_ He thought, _Too bad a few of those Na'vi clans don't feel the same._ The old man brushed his sad thoughts aside once Atem was securely in place on his link bed. Leaning on the side with a cheerful expression he stated, "See you at the Grand Tour Atem! From one dream to another, may we meet again!"

Atem smiled and replied, "Thanks Grandpa." The lid closed and as it slid through the hole, Sugoroku hurried over to link up and join the other avatars.

* * *

A large Samson Tiltrotor decorated with tribal images and holding the capacity of a giant school bus seemed to glide over a wide expanse of water, overlooking the magnificent scenery of wild beauty. The Grand Tour had barely gotten started, and the young occupants of the tiltrotor were already taken in by the breathtaking sight of life all around them. Piloting the ship was a human, a Latino descended woman wearing a gray tank shirt a short-sleeved yellow jacket and baggy pants and army boots. She was in a sealed-off section of her beloved Samson, to protect her from the Pandoran atmosphere.

Compared to their human bodies, the avatar students had to wear a school uniform. Luckily for all of them, it was in a style that everyone agreed was pretty cool: a modern jungle explorer look fit for action heroes like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. For the boys, it was made up of a navy-blue t-shirt, a tan short-sleeved jacket, long tan jungle pants with holes for their tails, and tan hiking boots. The girls had a similar look, except they had a dark pink T-shirt and tan shorts that reached above their knees, allowing them to show off their pink socks. The teachers were dressed similarly to the students, but their shirts were a respective black and red. All of them had the logo of TERF sewn on the jacket: a stylized willow tree surrounded by balls of light.

For Atem, the shoes and socks were making his feet feel really cramped, especially since he had opposable toes. But for the moment, he wasn't paying any heed to this problem; he was occupied by his excitement about the Tour. Grace Augustine was among the group, as well as Pegasus, Sugoroku, Arthur and Norm… even Jake Sully, with gun in hand, ready to defend the students from any danger! The coach was grinning though, as he was just as excited about the trip as his own future students!

"Everyone, if you would please, say hello to Trudy Chacon!" Grace stated to the many young occupants through her communication collar, introducing the pilot. As the students said their hellos, the pilot, Trudy, acknowledged them with a friendly wave and a smile. "She is a member of a special branch of TERF known as the Renegades." Grace continued, "I'll tell you more about the Renegades later, but right now let's continue on with the tour!"

Shizuka looked out at a strange flock of birds in amazement. The birds in question looked more reptilian and had two pairs of leathery wings. "Oh Katsuya, look!" she exclaimed, "They're so beautiful!" Jonouchi and the other students looked on in her direction and their eyes sparkled with wonder.

Pegasus, in his avatar, smiled and replied, "These are tetrapteron, a highly social kind of bird who lives here in this world. As you could see, like many birds of Pandora these birds bear the resemblance of dragons."

"You mean like the ones from Duel Monsters?!" a teenager gasped in excitement.

"Not quite, but it's pretty close if you ask me!" Pegasus answered. One of the tetrapteron seemed to cry out as if in agreement.

"Sturmbeest over to your right!" Trudy suddenly announced.

"Thanks!" Grace replied as the elementary students rushed quickly in that direction. Sure enough, in the distance, they saw a herd of said sturmbeest wandering within the water. She pointed to the herd, noting, "See right there? That's a bull, two cows and a dozen juveniles."

"Awesome!" Mokuba gasped, "They're like a Pandoran version of buffalo! I hear the Na'vi go out to hunt them!"

"Hmph… Small world." Seto muttered, even as he watched the sturmbeest bull rear up his head and bellow.

The tiltrotor curved around a corner. "We're going to make a landing soon!" Sugoroku announced, "Even as I speak, Ironheart is down there waiting for us so we can explore our new home away from home!" Atem was hanging out by an opening at the edge of the tiltrotor, held securely by the belt that kept him from falling. But that didn't stop him from enjoying the experience of being in the sky. He held out his arms, in mimicry of wings.

"Look at me, Yugi!" he shouted, "I'm a dragon!"

Yugi laughed at the sight. "Ha, ha, yeah, you sure make for a good dragon!"

"Oh yeah?" Jonouchi exclaimed, trying to imitate the elder Mutou brother, "Well I can do better! Look Ma, no hands!"

Not far away, Jake was also hanging by the edge, exhilarated by the breeze against his face, letting out an excited yell. "WOOOOOOOOO!"

"All right you guys!" Norm scolded, "Get back in there!"

"Yeah, one village idiot is enough!" Grace added, prompting Trudy to laugh at the scene.

Eventually the tiltrotor entered a clearing in the middle of the forest. A small herd of hexapedes bounded away upon the vehicle's approach. Ironheart, in his avatar, stood his ground as he watched the "bus" make its landing. Unlike the other avatar teachers, he was dressed in the native clothes of the Na'vi, which consisted of a loincloth and other decorative ornaments. His many-braided locks flew against the powerful wind made by the tiltrotor's propellers; from a distance he would have easily been mistaken for an actual Na'vi.

When the vehicle finally landed, Jake was to first to make his exit, scanning the area for any possible danger. The teachers were next to come out, and Arthur approached the window where he could see its young renegade pilot. "Turn it off, Trudy!" he called out, "No need to waste energy on the solar-powered batteries!"

"Got it, professor!" Trudy replied and shut off her Samson. Only then did all the others come out, ready to explore.

"Norm," Sugoroku reminded, "Don't forget your pack!"

"Oh! Thanks Dr. Mutou!" Norm replied hurriedly and rushed back to get his backpack. Eventually the whirring of the tiltrotor began to die down, and all the young newcomers gathered near their guide.

"Welcome everyone," Ironheart greeted, "Zola'u nìprrte'. Before we head out on this walk in the woods, there are a few rules we need to make clear. First of all, you must stay together at all times; for all its beauty, this world is also a very dangerous place for young children such as yourselves, and the same goes for your Na'vi peers. Unless you know your way around, you will get lost and possibly attacked by predators and we don't want that to happen. Secondly, all those younger than fourteen must be accompanied by an adult when traveling beyond the safety of the Dormtree or the Hometree of your Na'vi friends. And finally, certain areas beyond TERF borders are off limits to all avatars, so do **not** enter those areas unless we say otherwise. Do you understand?"

"Yes." came the resounding reply of the students.

"Good." Ironheart stated with a smile, "Shall we, Grace?"

"Why of course!" Grace answered before turning her attention to the newcomers. "C'mon, kids!" By then, the tiltrotor was silent and the nature walk finally began. All the children and teens were in awe of the strange and peaceful jungle sounds, which was very much different from the unsettling noises of the Dead Zone megacities.

"Hey, uh… Dr. Augustine?" Jonouchi asked, "Do you know where we're going?"

"Well, first of all, we're going to a place to get your school supplies." The TERF president replied.

"And where's that?" Honda asked. Before anyone could answer, though, a loud chirping noise echoed to the left hand side of the group, prompting a startled Jake to aim his gun. A group of small animals appeared, swinging through the branches; they appeared to be a kind of blue and yellow monkey with arms that forked at the elbow, and two digits on each of its four hands.

"Oh look!" Shizuka exclaimed, pointing to the animals in question.

"Awww, they're so cute!" Anzu cooed as one of the monkey-like animals paused to grab a piece of fruit.

Pegasus turned toward the smaller avatar children. "Kids, what do you call those animals?"

"Prolemuris!" the children answered enthusiastically.

"That's right!" Pegasus praised. Eventually the prolemuris left, swinging away on the branches and chirping out their cute calls.

"They're also not aggressive." Sugoroku noted, placing a hand on Jake's gun and lowering it. "Calm down Jarhead, not every animal in Pandora's out to get you." The teenagers laughed at the exchange, and Jake only rolled his eyes.

* * *

Eventually, the newcomers were approaching what looked like a large log building styled to resemble an indigenous hut of the Terran jungle natives. Several avatar students wandered just outside the building, chatting and playing with Na'vi friends hailing from various clans friendly to TERF. "This is one of our school libraries," Grace explained, "It's also the place where you can get your school supplies before we continue with the tour."

Inside, the building was filled with books on various subjects. Some adult Na'vi greeted the teachers warmly in a corner styled like a tribal marketplace, where many of the school supplies for avatars rested. "Now, as you know, these supplies aren't free for you to take." Ironheart explained, handing the newcomers various fruits, tools and clothing, "In order to get what you need, it is only proper that you barter for it. As payment for these supplies, these 'merchants' will accept items that will help provide for their clan. So to help you on your way, I am providing you with these necessities with which to trade. We will leave you with a one-hour break from the tour, so when you've got what you need feel free to look around and possibly introduce yourselves to some of your new classmates." With that, the new avatar students proceeded to shop for their supplies, as noted on the list that they also received from the wise old man. Meanwhile, Sugoroku was arranging some of the children's books with Arthur and Grace.

"Ah… this place brings back memories." He sighed nostalgically, "Before this place was a library, this was the first Avatar School in which both avatar and Na'vi students were integrated. We've accomplished so much since those days."

"I know." Arthur agreed, picking up a picture book and gazing at it admiringly, "This was also the place where I began to write the popular children's books based on actual Na'vi legends."

"Wait a sec!" Yugi gasped, overhearing the conversation, "Professor Hawkins, **you** were the author of the famous '_Song of Pandora_' series?! I used to read these books when I was a kid!"

Arthur let out a hearty chuckle. "Yes, I'm the one! And the illustrations were made by Pegasus, who also created the game Duel Monsters back on Earth before he became a teacher of the Avatar School program."

"And he's certainly an amazing teacher!" Sugoroku noted, "He actually teaches two different schools at once! As a human, he does decimal and octal arithmetic in high school… but in his avatar, he's an elementary art teacher! The Na'vi children, in particular, adore him just as much as they adore Grace!"

Grace smiled as she picked up some books. "Yeah… the Na'vi children as so bright… even to this day, they're so eager to learn." She carefully place the book in the shelves. "They pick up English and Japanese faster than we can teach them, and they prove very helpful for the avatar kids too!"

Meanwhile, Mokuba had finished gathering the supplies that he needed, so he went about exploring the library. As he was eyeing the books, trying to decide which to read first, an avatar girl around his age came by, followed by two boys.

"Kaltxì!" the girl greeted with a cute smile. "Fyape syaw fko ngar?"

Mokuba looked up at the kids in confusion. "Huh?"

"Kaltxì!" the girl repeated, "That's Na'vi for 'hello'!"

The one of the boys stepped forward and added, "And 'Fyape syaw fko ngar?' means 'What are you called?' That's the Na'vi's way of saying, 'What's your name?'"

Mokuba's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh! I get it now! You guys must have been here for quite some time if you know about that! My name's Mokuba!"

"As in Mokuba Kaiba, vice president of Kaibacorp?" the boy holding a toy banshee asked.

"_Former_ vice president is more like it." Mokuba admitted, "It's a long story."

"Well it's nice to meet you!" the boy replied, "Or as the Na'vi would say, 'Smon nìprrte'!' I'm Miruko."

"I'm Sophia!" the girl introduced, and pointed to the other young avatar boy, "And this is my brother, Julian."

"Kaltxì!" the boy, Julian, greeted, "And welcome to Pandora!"

"You're one of the new kids here, right?" Miruko stated, "I'm sure we could be great friends! Want us to teach you some more Na'vi before you move on with the tour?"

"Sure!" Mokuba answered enthusiastically, "I would love to!"

Around that same moment, a young Na'vi child approached Pegasus. "Karyu!" the child called out, tapping him gently, "Pey'gasusCrawford!"

"Yes, Little One?" Pegasus asked kindly. The child pointed to a book located on the shelf in front of him—one that was obviously too high for the child to reach. "Oh, you want this book?"

"Srane!" the child replied, nodding and clapping his hands.

"Well then, let me help you pick it out!" Pegasus declared and lifted the child up, allowing him to pick the book out for himself.

The other teachers watching the adorable scene couldn't help but smile. "I'm so glad that most of the clans came back to us." Grace sighed. "After all that happened three years ago…"

"You mean there's some that still haven't come back?" Norm asked.

The TERF president grew sad. "I'm afraid so."

"But why? Why don't they come back?"

At first, Grace didn't answer. Then finally she replied, "I guess the Omaticaya learned as much about us as they needed to."

Atem had just finished gathering his supplies when he caught wind of that conversation. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Oh," Sugoroku quickly answered, "It's nothing! Nothing you need to worry about!" The elder Mutou twin didn't buy it, of course. But nevertheless, he decided to drop the subject.

* * *

After all the students have gotten their supplies and enjoyed their break, the students continued with their nature walk. "Dr. Augustine?" Shizuka called out, "How will the other Na'vi clans know we're here?"

"Word spreads fast, especially around this area." Grace answered, "As a matter of fact, I'm sure there's some of them watching us right now."

"Great…" Seto muttered, not for the first time.

The group had walked a few miles before something caught the TERF president's eye. "Wait… hold on, get your tablets!" she stated excitedly, "I just got to show you this!" And she sped toward a clearing, much to the confusion of the newcomers.

"Ah, she's always like that." Ironheart assured them. "And I, for one, don't blame her." With that everyone followed Grace until they reached the clearing, where they saw the object of her interest.

"That's it? That's what you're interested in? A root?!" Jonouchi queried in disbelief.

"It's not just any root," Grace scolded, "Norm, put up the infrared camera."

"Oh, sure!" Norm replied, taking his tablet and setting up the scanner while the TERF president took out a syringe.

Sugoroku chuckled. "That's Grace! Always looking out for a sample of plant life to study."

"Forgive us for stalling the tour a bit, but please be patient!" Arthur stated. Some of the students, who were obviously not interested in science, groaned at the statement. Others, especially the high school students with an interest in biology, moved in for a closer look. As their teachers began to study the root, they could see in the infrared camera some ripples of light pulsing through it.

"Wow!" Norm gasped in awe, "It's that fast?"

Grace chuckled heartily in reply. "Amazing, is it?"

It didn't take long before the teachers started rambling amongst themselves and some of the science enthusiasts among the students. Jonouchi let out a sigh of annoyance. "This is starting to get boring."

"Tell me about it!" Honda muttered. "Let's go exploring."

"Good idea!" Jonouchi stated, jumping at a chance for some action. The two mischief makers began to wander from the group, not realizing that Seto had noticed them.

"Stay here Mokuba." He stated to his little brother, "The Mutt and his friend are straying from the pack."

"Why not tell Coach Sully?" Mokuba asked in confusion.

"Because, like the other teachers said, he's the village idiot." Seto responded, "And I don't trust a village idiot to bring back those deadbeats without messing up himself." And he quickly followed them from behind. The three of them didn't stray too far, though, as they soon came across a rather interesting set of plants.

"Hey Honda, check it out!" Jonouchi stated, pointing to the plants. The others quickly stepped forward for a closer look. The plants in question had leaves coiling around like a spiral.

"Whoa…" Honda gasped in amazement, "What are those things?"

"Looks like those heli—something plants I keep hearing about in those nature documentaries." Jonouchi surmised.

"It's helicoradians, Mutt." Seto corrected. The other two spun around, not expecting to see the former billionaire right behind them.

"Kaiba?! What the hell are you doing here?" Jonouchi barked.

"What do you think? If you don't go back to the group soon you're gonna get in trouble with the teachers."

"We're not that far!" Jonouchi retorted, before turning his attention back to the helicoradians, "Besides, these things look interesting."

"Yeah," Honda agreed, "They're like giant versions of a sea plant I've seen in the TERF aquariums back on Earth."

They stared for a while before Jonouchi mused, "I wonder what it feels like?"

"I dunno. Why don't you try it?"

"You try it first."

"No, you try."

Realizing the situation, Jonouchi finally declared, "Rock, paper, scissors! Loser gets to touch it first."

"Deal!" Honda replied, and the two initiated the game. Needless to say, Honda lost; he got "paper" while the underdog got "scissors". "Damn!"

"A deal's a deal," Jonouchi insisted, "Now touch it!"

"All right, all right…" the mohawked student slowly approached a helicoradian, and reached a finger toward one of the leaves. But just when it had made contact with the plant…

SWOOP

The plant sucked itself into the ground with a noise like it was being sucked up into the hose of a vacuum cleaner, surprising the three.

"WHOA!" Honda exclaimed, growing excited, "Jonouchi, did you see that?! DID YOU SEE THAT?!"

"That was SO COOL!" Jonouchi answered, "Do it again!" And Honda did with another helicoradian, which responded the same way. "WHOA! This is better than the nature shows!"

"I'd quit while we're ahead." Seto warned, "You're gonna get in trouble!"

"C'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" Jonouchi stated, before sticking a hand to another helicoradian. This time several other plants also started coiling themselves to the ground. "Aw yeah, domino effect!"

But as soon as all of the helicoradians have disappeared… a large animal was revealed. It was reminiscent of a colorful rhino, and the top of the head had the structure of a hammerhead shark, topped with colorful… feathers? The animal let out a bellow; it was very angry. The eyes of the three young avatars widened in fear.

"How about… _that_?!" Seto barked, in response to the underdog's previous question.

"HAMMERHEAD TITANOTHERE!" Honda shouted, "RUN!" and the three of them broke to a run, screaming for dear life. The hammerhead began to take chase.

The commotion was enough that the group in the tour took notice. Shizuka grew concerned. "Katsuya! He's in trouble!" And before anyone could stop her, she was off.

"Shizuka, wait!" Anzu called out, and rushed after her. Atem and Yugi also ran after the girls, to make sure nothing bad happened to them. Soon the four of them had reached the now empty grove.

"Katsuya?!" Shizuka called, " KATSUYA?!" Right at that moment there was another loud bellow, and the four of them turned to see another hammerhead titianothere, who was just as angry as the last. The young avatars froze in fear, right when Jake came over.

"Don't worry guys! I got this!" he shouted and aimed his gun at the animal. Just then the teachers came by, sheltering themselves behind a few trees. Several students came by to watch as well, excited and unaware of the danger, but thankfully at a safe distance.

"Don't shoot!" Grace warned, "DON'T SHOOT! You'll piss him off!"

The hammerhead bellowed again and knocked down a few tree branches. "It's already pissed off!" Jake exclaimed.

"That armor is too hard!" Arthur shouted, "Trust me!" Jake pulled his gun away, but didn't lower it.

"It's a territorial threat display." Sugoroku explained as calmly as he could, "If you start running, he'll charge."

"If I had to guess," Atem reasoned, "Jonouchi must have done just that!"

"So what do we do?!" Yugi asked in a panic.

"Just hold your ground!" Grace advised. Norm and Pegasus stared at the scene in horror, unsure of what would happen next. The hammerhead dug a leg into the ground and eyed them like a bull to a matador.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think he's gonna charge anyway!" Jake noted. Turned out he was right; the hammerhead began to rush head on. Jake let out his own battle cry and rushed toward the animal. Out of bravery or foolishness, Atem and his friends couldn't tell. _Is he crazy?! He's going to get himself killed!_ Atem thought. But right as the two came an inch close to each other… they both stopped!

Needless to say, the other students were impressed. "Whoa, how did he do that?!" one student gasped.

Apparently, Jake seemed proud of his little stunt as well. "Aw yeah, who's bad!" And unexpectedly the hammerhead began to run away in fear. "Yeah, get your punk-ass back to mommy!"

Anzu turned toward the elder Mutou twin and noticed the concern on his face. "Atem?"

"…Something's not right." Atem finally stated, "It's not possible for the Hammerhead to be scared off by Coach Sully alone."

"Uh g-guys?" Yugi stuttered, "Guys?"

"What is it Yugi?" Atem asked. The younger Mutou twin pointed above them. They all looked up to see a fierce-looking panther-like animal. Jake noticed it too, and his confident taunting of the hammerhead immediately stopped. And it immediately dawned on them: _this_ was what was scaring the hammerhead! Even the teachers were gasping in fear.

Anzu exclaimed, "THANATOR!" The thanator roared and leaped high into the air before landing in front of the avatars. The herd of hammerheads from which the other two came ran away in almost an instant. Then the thanator turned around and spotted them.

"So what do we do?!" Jake queried in a panic, "Run?! Don't Run?! What?!" The panther-like animal readied itself to strike.

"RUN!" Sugoroku shouted, "DEFINITELY RUN!"

And all five avatars did just that. The thanator immediately gave chase.

* * *

At the same moment, Jonouchi, Honda and Seto were all rushing through the woods, with first hammerhead inching closer and closer to the perceived source of its irritation. "HURRY!" Honda exclaimed, "IT'S GAINING ON US!" Jonouchi barely managed to dodge a falling branch when it was knocked down by his angry pursuer.

Seto glanced to the side and noticed a small cliff with more foliage. "Quick! This way!"

"How do we know it's not a trap you're setting?!" Jonouchi exclaimed in suspicion.

"You'd rather be stepped on by that hammerhead?!" Seto snapped back. "Now let's go!" The three of them took a leap off the cliff and managed to grab onto a nearby branch. The hammerhead bellowed as it realized its target was out of reach, and immediately lumbered away.

"Is he gone?" Honda muttered timidly.

"Yeah, he's gone." Jonouchi confirmed.

"Good." Seto stated, "Now let's go back before you get me into any more trouble."

"Uh, there's just one problem Kaiba." Jonouchi noted, looking around. The next question said it all: "Where are we?"

* * *

It was not easy for the avatars to evade the cunning thanator, especially in such thick brush. With every step, it seemed as if the panther-like animal was inching closer and closer. Eventually, they reached a place with a steep slope. Suddenly Shizuka slipped and started falling. She grabbed onto Yugi's shirt, but ended up dragging him down with her! Both fell over screaming.

"YUGI!" Atem screamed.

"SHIZUKA!" Anzu exclaimed likewise. Right them the thanator took a swipe at them with its claws. Just in the nick of time, Jake swooped in and snatched them away before it made contact.

"C'mon! Let's move!" Jake insisted.

"But Yugi-" Atem began to protest. But he immediately stopped as it was clear that the thanator had taken chase again. Deeper and deeper they ran, with the beast shattering branches with the kind of strength that could shatter bones.

Eventually they reached a series of roots with a gap underneath. "This way!" Jake shouted, and Atem and Anzu quickly followed their coach under the safety of the roots. The panther-like animal began to claw its way toward the three.

"What do we do now?!" Anzu queried.

"I'll handle this!" Jake assured and he immediately started shooting. The animal yelped in pain, but even that wasn't enough to deter it. It soon grabbed hold of the gun with its teeth and tossed it to the side like a useless action toy. It then started to make its way toward the ex-marine.

Atem realized that he had to act. Immediately, he proceeded to take off his shoes and socks. "What are you doing?!" Anzu screamed in shock.

"Trying to save Jake!" Atem replied, once he was loose of his footwear. Indeed, the thanator was so busy clawing at his coach that it didn't notice the elder Mutou twin as he lifted his right shoe. Taking aim, he tossed the shoe right toward the animal. It hit its mark. The thanator turned toward Atem and Anzu in what seemed like a glare. "Now go!" Atem ordered Anzu, and they both made their exit from the root. Once outside, he tossed his left shoe and struck the thanator again before they broke into a run. The beast gave chase, its previous prey forgotten.

"ATEM! ANZU!" Jake shouted, though his call went unheeded.

The pair sped farther and farther, dodging the predator with every chance they got. Thanks to his opposable toes, he was much faster than he was with shoes on. Even Anzu noticed the difference. "Atem, slow down!" she shouted, "I can't keep up with you!"

"Hold on to my hand!" Atem ordered, to which the girl did and though she had a hard time matching his stride, she dared not let go. Suddenly, the thanator sprang up and got hold of him by his backpack. He was knocked to the ground, and the girl was forced to let go!

"ATEM!" Anzu screamed, and she took a large stick and rose up. She struck the animal hard, forcing it to let go. It snapped at the girl, but she kept on with her attack. Eventually, though, it chomped on to the stick, snapping it in two. Having lost her weapon, she broke into a run, but the thanator grabbed onto her by her backpack and lifted her up tossing her around. Seeing his friend in danger, Atem took off his own backpack and swung at the beast. Soon Anzu undid her own backpack, and as soon as she slid out, she grabbed the straps until the thanator swung it in Atem's direction before she let go. The elder Mutou twin caught her, but they were both sent to the ground. Immediately, the predator pounced up toward them. Realizing that there was no time to escape, they braced themselves for the impact.

It never came.

Suddenly, some vines shot out from the side as if out of nowhere, and grabbed the animal before it even got a chance to strike. Then the vines dragged it away from its intended path before landing unceremoniously on the ground. Atem and Anzu rose up in surprise as the watched the beast struggle with the vines that were holding it down. A few more of them shot out in an attempt to pin it down.

"W-what just happened?" Anzu stuttered as she and the elder Mutou twin rose up to their feet.

"I have no idea." Atem answered and happened to look up from behind him. He was surprised to see a figure perched on a branch high above him. He didn't get a good enough look though, because the figure immediately sped away from view. But not far away he could see a cliff overlooking a waterfall.

"Atem? What is it?" Anzu asked.

"There was someone there… and I think they're telling us to go to that waterfall!"

"What?!" Anzu gasped in shock, "Are you crazy?!"

"It's our only chance to escape!" Atem answered, and grabbed onto her hand. "Now let's GO!" And run they did, for the thanator finally managed to break free from its bonds and chase after them again. Just when it had barely caught up again, the pair made a great leap of the cliff. And they were out of the animal's reach as they plummeted to the river below. The water was enough to break their fall, and they swam with all the strength that they could gather until they reached the root of another tree. Atem grabbed hold of hit, before taking hold of Anzu. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She answered as they began to climb out. "I just hope I never have to face that thing again."

The thanator roared from the top of the cliff, and the elder Mutou twin looked back at it. "YOU'RE A WORTHY HUNTER!" he shouted at the predator, "AND YOU HAVE MY RESPECT!" As if it understood the message, the thanator slinked away.

"Atem…" Anzu stated in her confusion, "That thanator tried to shred us to pieces and eat us! Why the hell are you praising it?!"

"Because in spite of the fear it brings, I admire it." Atem answered, "Am I strange for thinking that way?" When the girl gave no answer, they continued climbing out of the river.

* * *

Wood chips were flying furiously as Jake carved a spear from a wooden stick. _Just my luck…_ he thought sarcastically to himself, _If getting myself lost in the woods wasn't bad enough, seven new avatar students got lost as well, and all under my watch! Some bodyguard I've been!_ He briefly looked around, keeping an eye out for potential danger. Seeing that he was still safe, he continued his sharpening. _I have to find them! Especially Atem and Yugi! If anything were to happen to them…_ He shoved the thought out of his mind, as he finished the spear tip. His work done, he rose up with his makeshift spear in hand and began his search. "ATEM?!" he shouted as loudly as he can, "YUGI?! ANZU?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He slowly navigated the jungle, warily looking for signs of danger. Hearing a sound behind him, he spun around pointing his spear, only to find that there was nothing there. He then continued on his way. "SHIZUKA?! CALL OUT TO ME IF YOU'RE THERE!"

Unbeknownst to the ex-marine, two figures were looking down at him from a very large tree branch. They were Na'vi, scantily clad in their native clothing. One was a woman around the same age as Jake, who seemed to have a noble air about her. The other was a girl in her teens, and she was very unusual: for one thing, her skin was as white as a cloud on a sunny day, with blue stripes. Her braided hair was also white with light blue highlights. And unlike all the other Na'vi, who have golden yellow eyes, her eyes were a brilliant blue.

"_**Neytiri,**_" the albino whispered in her native language, "_**This demon has dared to cross the boundaries! And it seems that others may have crossed as well!**_"

The Na'vi woman, Neytiri, adjusted herself, readying her bow. "_**We must not let any of them get their filthy hands on my sister! If they find her before we do…**_" She lifted her bow, pulling the string that held the arrow. "_**…she would surely suffer the same fate as Sylwanin. Let us destroy them before that happens, starting with this one.**_" She took aim.

"JONOUCHI?!" Jake called out, unaware of the danger he was in. "HONDA?! SETO?!"

Neytiri fueled her anger and pulled hard on the string. But right when she was about to release the bowstring and shoot the fatal arrow… "_**Wait!**_" the albino gasped, stopping her, "_**Atokirina'!**_" And right at that moment, something floated toward the pair and landed on the arrow. It had the appearance that was the mix of a dandelion puff and a jellyfish and it moved like a jellyfish as well. The two Na'vi women stared at the sight in awe. It lingered for a while on the arrow before finally floating away. She lowered her bow as she watched. "_**It's a sign from Eywa!**_" the albino mused, "_**But what does it mean?**_"

Neytiri paused for a moment before she turned her attention back to the ex-marine. "_**She must have Seen something in this one that we do not. Come Kii'sara! We must follow him!**_" And she sped off. The albino, Kii'sara, hesitated for a bit, but finally decided to follow her.

* * *

Note: It seems now that the Omaticaya's keeping watch over Jake Sully? But is Neytiri the only one? And who is Neytiri's sister in this story aside from Slywanin? In the next chapter, Atem finally meets up with that sister after making an encounter with a strange direhose. Oh, and before I forget, Since some characters are personified as Na'vi in this story they're given Na'vi names that are pretty close to the original. for example:

Kii'sara=Kisara.

Which means there's Blueshipping on the horizon. Get it? "Blue"shipping? Ha, ha, ha ,ha, ha! Okay, joking aside, will our heroes ever find each other? And what's going to happen if they do? Until Next Time!


	4. Unlikely Rescuers

Note: And another chapter for Dreamhunter is well underway! To Kineil D. Wicks, I really appreciate the constructive criticism. The writing style you're seeing is kind of a habit for me, based partially on the structure of the fantasy novels I read. It's pretty complicated how I got to this point... Anyway, back to this chapter. Jake and the seven other avatars are now lost in the jungle forest, but very soon help will be coming their way-although who comes to help was completely unexpected! Vaseshippers will be enjoying this, as well as Blueshippers and fans of Jake and Neytiri!

Oh! Before we start, I would like to make it clear when it comes to the language. It may seem like everyone is speaking English, but in truth, certain characters speak Japanese as well, namely most of the Japanese-born Yu-Gi-Oh characters. They use Japanese when they're speaking to each other, and use English when talking to English-speaking characters like Grace or Jake. And as it was mentioned before in earlier chapters, the teachers in the Avatar School Program teach both English and Japanese to the Na'vi, so it's safe to assume that most of the older characters are fluent in these languages in this story. Just hope I'm making it clear to you before you get on with reading this chapter, as I do not make obvious notes in the transition of these languages for the sake of making this story clear to read. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get to it! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Unlikely Rescuers**

"YUGI?!" Atem shouted at the top of his lungs. He and Anzu had been walking aimlessly around the forest, searching for the other avatars they got separated from, especially his brother. In spite of giving him the advantage of speed via opposable toes, his bare feet were still as soft as the skin of a newborn baby; due to the lack of calluses, they were badly scraped and bleeding from the rush to escape the thanator. But Atem was so worried about the others that he barely even noticed the pain as he walked through the brush. "YUGI?! COACH SULLY?!"

"SHIZUKA?!" Anzu called out. So far, the only answer they received was the sounds of nature. She sighed. "How can we find them in a place like this? We don't even know our own way around!"

"Preaching to the choir, Anzu." Atem stated, knowing the fact all too well. Suddenly, a noise in the distance grabbed the attention of the elder Mutou twin. He stopped.

"Atem?" Anzu queried in confusion, "Why did you stop?"

"Shhh! Listen!" Atem replied. The noise echoed again. "Do you hear that? I think I know that sound! I heard it when we first came to this world!" And he rushed away, following the sound.

"Hey!" Anzu called back, running after him. "Wait for me!" It wasn't easy, but the two of them managed to navigate through the vines and the thick brush and managed to reach the source of the loud noise. For a moment, Atem's eyes widened in amazement.

Within a clearing by a grove of trees, there was an animal struggling to free itself from a muddy sinkhole, all tangled up in thick vines. He knew exactly what that animal happened to be!

"A direhorse!" he gasped, "It looked much larger when I saw one in my human body!" The direhorse tried to leap upward in an attempt to snap the vines away. But all it did was to tighten them further.

"Look!" Anzu gasped, "This one's got eight legs! I thought direhorses only have six!" Sure enough, there was an extra pair of legs located close to the hind legs of the equine animal. Still, Atem's heart tugged at the sight; eight legs or six, he couldn't bear to see such a magnificent beast in such distress.

"C'mon Anzu," he stated, "He needs our help!"

"Are you sure it's a good idea? This looks like the wild kind! It might hurt us!"

"I don't care!" Atem insisted, "I cannot stand by and watch the creature I love suffer like this!" He cautiously stepped out toward the eight-legged direhorse, with his friend creeping from behind. "Hey there… calm down." The direhorse looked in his direction, as if he (Atem assumed it was a male) realized that someone was talking to him. "It's all right, I'm here to help you." Atem inched closer and closer, making certain not to spook the animal. "Easy now…" The direhorse made a sudden movement, startling him. But he held his ground. "Easy! Easy…" Soon after, the eight-legged animal grew still again, and once more the elder Mutou twin made his slow advance until at last he was close enough to touch him. "Yes, calm down." Atem assured softly as his hand gently made contact. He shivered with amazement; it was the very first time he had actually touched his favorite Pandoran animal, his hide like strong and smooth leather. He proceeded to stroke the eight-legged direhorse, and he seemed to be soothed by his touch. "That's it…"

Anzu couldn't help but be amazed at what she was seeing. "How did you do that?!" she gasped in a hushed tone. "It's like you're a direhorse whisperer or something!" Atem barely had the time to respond before the direhorse's antenna, resembling a horse ear on a very long stem, tapped him on the forehead. Right away he noticed something at the very tip of it. Curious, he took hold of the antenna and examined it. Inside, there were what appeared to be a collective of tiny worms. Yet he quickly realized they're not worms at all: they were neural tendrils! The memory of the previous night came back to him. Specifically, what he learned from Arthur Hawkins.

"**Here in Pandora, all living things have a form of neural connection with which they interact with the world around them, including the Na'vi. As a matter of fact, the Na'vi actually use their queues as a part of their daily life. So it's not surprising that all avatars have queues as well, because they are Na'vi hybrids.**"

Atem took hold of his own queue and exposed the tendrils to make a side by side comparison. He was amazed at how they looked exactly alike. _Amazing!_ He thought, _So this is what Professor Hawkins was talking about!_ Then something unexpected happened: one of the tendrils suddenly reached out toward the tendrils in the antenna. "Huh?!" The direhorse's tendrils reached back, initiating a domino effect in which one by one, all of the neural tendrils of the queue and antenna began to connect to each other. Atem let go in surprise, but the feathery tendrils held fast and finally intertwined. In an instant, he felt a strange sensation overwhelming his mind. The direhorse seemed to have felt it too, for it whinnied and reared up momentarily. Atem gasped in astonishment; all at once he could feel the animal's movements as if they were his own.

"ATEM!" Anzu gasped in shock. "What did you do?!" Almost immediately, Atem felt a great fear surging within him—and he suddenly realized that the fear was not his own.

"It's all right!" Atem stated calmly, "It's all right, calm down!" He didn't know exactly how he was doing it, but he concentrated on sending his own reassuring emotions to the direhorse's mind. It worked. The fear began to dissipate until it vanished altogether. "Keep still, it's okay… yes, that's it." He leaned himself against the eight-legged beast, amazed at what was happening. "How strange… It's as if I can understand you… and you can understand me."

"Atem?" Anzu stated, snapping him out of his reverie, "What exactly is going on right now?"

"To tell you the truth," Atem admitted, "I'm not sure myself. But he's calm now! Let's help him get untangled."

"Uh, sure!" She knelt down close to trapped direhorse, examining the vines. "Hmmm… they seem to be pretty tight."

Atem carefully tugged on a vine. It hardly budged at all. "You have a point there. Now that you mention it, I haven't exactly thought this through." Unbeknownst to the pair, a blue-skinned figure crept out from the dense foliage from on top of a rock formation overlooking the clearing. The figure peered at them, peeking a bit from out of the shadows. "I don't have a knife with me, and even if I do, I don't want to use it—I mean, if an actual Na'vi happens to pass by and they see me using a knife to try and free the direhorse, they might think that I'm trying to attack it, and that does not go well for a first impression!" Atem let out a sigh as he shook his head. "How are we going to go about undoing all these vines so we can get him out of that sinkhole?" As if to answer that question, the figure finally spoke.

"I will help!"

The two avatars spun around in surprise to see a young Na'vi female, just their age, stepping out of the shadows. She had a cheerful aura about her, and her wild brown hair was seemingly held down with a leather headband accented with a soft cloth that spread downward. She had a pair of leather arm bands on her biceps and oversized bracelets and anklets. A string of red beads hung around her neck. And her native clothes were a light tan color. In her hand, she held a staff made of wood decorated with leaves and smooth stones.

"Oe srayung, I will help!" the Na'vi girl repeated as she leapt down. "Like I helped you escape the palulukan."

"Palu…?" Anzu muttered in confusion.

"You call it a thanator." The Na'vi girl answered, "I did not want it to kill you, so I bound it long enough for you to run to the river below."

Atem's eyes widened in amazement. "So it was you I saw back there! But how was it that you were able to help us? I mean, aside from showing us the way out of the… palulukan's grasp?"

The Na'vi girl giggled. "Same way I will help you now! I show you!" Stepping toward the direhorse, she crouched low and muttered an enchantment in her native language. Her hand seemed to glow as she traced it in an arc over the vines. No sooner than she did so than the vines loosened themselves and moved away as if on its own accord.

"Amazing!" Anzu gasped.

"That's incredible!" Atem told the Na'vi girl, "How did you do that?"

"My karyu, teacher, is the Swotsyokx: the Sacred Hand of Eywa." The Na'vi girl replied, "I still have much to learn though." Her eyes rested on the queue that was still attached to the direhorse's antenna and quickly moved into the sinkhole behind it. "Here, I give you more strength. You tell him to move."

"But how?" Atem asked.

"Just do it!"

And so he turned toward the direhorse as the native began to push. "Stand up… slowly." He was astonished to see the eight-legged beast do exactly as he instructed. "Slowly… That's it. Now move over to the edge. Good!" As the direhorse was almost out of the sinkhole, Anzu moved in to help with the pushing. "Now move forward!" With a much needed shove, they finally managed to move him out, and the girls climbed out of the mud. The elder Mutou twin prevented him from running away, as they were was still attached. "Okay stop! That's it, very good!" Again he stroked the animal gently. "Now all I need to do is get my queue out. But how?"

"Just pull it off." The Na'vi girl stated.

"Pull it off?!" Atem gasped in shock, "But I don't want to hurt us both!"

"You won't." And to prove it, she took hold of Atem's queue and yanked it out of the antenna like it was a plug from an electrical socket. He flinched from the sudden movement, but saw that all the neural tendrils were still intact. "See? No harm done." At that, Atem smiled as the Na'vi girl gently shooed the eight-legged direhorse away. "_**How strange! In all my life, I have never seen a pa'li with **__**eight**__** legs before…**_" she muttered to herself in her native tongue.

"You're a real Na'vi, right? How do you say 'Thank you' in your language?"

"Irayo."

"I-Irayo! You don't know how much this means to me! I have always had a love of horses since I was a small child—which is very small since I'm… what do you call us? Sky People? Anyway, that love extends to direhorses-"

"We call them pa'li."

"Yes, pa'li, and I just couldn't bear to see them in distress or being mistreated…" Atem trailed off as he suddenly realized there was something rather odd about this conversation. "Wait a second… How is it that you know Japanese?"

"GraceAugustine taught me ìnglìsì." The Na'vi girl answered proudly, "But I learn yapanìsì from SugorokuuMuutou."

"Sugoruku Mutou?!" Atem gasped in astonishment.

"You are newcomer... I have never seen you in this place before. And yet you speak of him as if you know him for many years."

"That's because I do!" Atem confirmed joyfully, "He's my grandfather!"

Now it was the Na'vi girl's turn to be surprised. "Oh, so you are his family?"

"Yes! My name is Atem Mutou."

"And I'm Anzu Mazaki." Anzu introduced, "I'm a friend of theirs."

"Ah! Smon nìprrte!"

The two avatars blinked in confusion. "Huh?'

"Smon nìprrte. That is 'Nice to meet you' in the language of my people. Or at least, the casual way."

"Oh!" Anzu gasped in understanding, "So then what's the formal way?"

"Awvea ultxari oengeyä, nawma sa'nok lrrtok sivei. It means, 'May the Great Mother smile upon our first meeting.'"

"Wow" Atem mused, "So that's what it means! I suppose I should save that phrase for someone very important. Oh, what's your name, by the way?"

"Amana te Tskaha Mo'at'ite."

"Oh…" Atem stated, "That's pretty long. Can you shorten it a bit?"

"Amana."

"Amana…"

"A-MA-na." the Na'vi girl, Amana, repeated, so as to give him the proper pronunciation.

"Amana!" Atem stated, finally getting it right. "Okay! Smon nìprrte, Amana! Nice to meet you! Did I say that right?"

"Not bad. Needs work though."

Atem suddenly gave a look of horror as he remembered something very important. "Oh… Yugi!" He took hold of Anzu's hand as she started to remember as well. "We have to find Yugi!"

"Iyuugi?" Amana asked in confusion as the avatars began to rush away, prompting her to follow.

"My younger brother." Atem explained, "We got separated from each other while the palulukan was chasing us, and now we're all lost."

"Let me help you find him!" Amana suggested. "I have walked through this forest many times, so I know the way around."

"Really?" Anzu exclaimed, "Then lead the way! We could really use a guide right now!" Amana strode ahead into the thick forest, with Atem and Anzu not far behind.

* * *

Throughout the day after the Grand Tour was canceled (obviously due to the events that got the eight avatars lost), the Tiltrotor flew over the canopy of the vast jungle. Grace peered through her binoculars frantically searching for any sign of the lost newcomers. Norm, Pegasus and Arthur looked on, and Sugoroku trembled with worry; after all, his two grandsons were among those who were lost. By this time, though, the sun was setting.

"We have to get back." Trudy finally reminded, "We can't keep the kids waiting any longer."

"But we can't wait until morning to find all the lost avatars!" Sugoroku protested, "They won't make it by then!"

"Don't worry Sugoroku." Grace reassured, "Ironheart will keep up with the search. If anyone can find them, it's him."

"I sure hope so!" the old man sighed. The tiltrotor then sped away, heading back to TERF Headquarters.

* * *

As the night was approaching, another pair of avatars was wandering around in the jungle. "ATEM!" Yugi called out, "ANZU! COACH SULLY?!"

"KATSUYA!" Shizuka called likewise. There was no answer of course, and the cute avatar hugged herself.

"You're worried about your brother, huh?" Yugi stated.

"I'm course I'm worried about him!" Shizuka replied, "You heard what happened! He was chased into the forest by a hammerhead titanothere, along with two others! I just hope he didn't get trampled…"

"I'm sure he's fine, Shizuka." Yugi reassured, "He seems to be a pretty tough guy. We'll find him soon." Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise… and it was coming straight from his own stomach. "Oh great, _now_ I'm getting hungry! And I don't even know what's edible here…"

"Wait!" Shizuka suddenly gasped. "Do you hear something?" Startled, the younger Mutou twin listened hard. It was faint at first, but as he listened carefully the sounds became clear. "It's not another wild animal, is it?" Shizuka stuttered.

"It it's definitely not a wild animal." Yugi confirmed, "There's people here…" He gasped in amazement. "And I know that voice! Can it be?!" He sped in front of the cute avatar and, cupping his hands over his mouth, shouted as loudly as he could muster. "ATEM?! BIG BROTHER, IS THAT YOU?!"

* * *

"ATEM!" Yugi's voice called out, reaching his brother's ears. He stopped in his tracks, picking up the sound.

"Yugi?!" he gasped, recognizing the sound. "YUGI! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The trio listened intently for a response. Soon another voice spoke out. "Is that really Atem?"

Anzu's eyes widened in amazement. "That's Shizuka's voice!"

Amana's ears moved to pick up the noise. "They're coming from over there! Quick, this way!" The two avatars immediately rushed to follow the young Na'vi as she led them in the direction of the voices.

"YUGI! SHIZUKA!" Anzu called out, "WE'RE COMING!" Eventually, they reached a place overlooking a rocky slope. And right at the very bottom…!

"AteemMuutou!" Amana exclaimed, "There is a dreamwalker who looks like you! Is **he** the younger brother you speak of?"

"Yes! That's him!" Atem answered, stepping ahead of the girls a bit.

"ATEM! ANZU!" Yugi shouted in joy.

"YUGI! SHIZUKA!" Atem cried out, "YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" He was so eager to reunite with his brother that he slid himself all the way down to the bottom of the rocky slope.

"OWWWWWW! OW! OW!"

Before he even realized what happened, he was hopping from one scraped foot to another in pain. Apparently, 'surfing' a rocky slope with baby-soft feet was a bad idea, and even more so when said feet were injured enough already.

Yugi and Shizuka ran over in concern. "ATEM!" Shizuka gasped, "Are you okay?!" Anzu and Amana quickly leapt off the slope to join them.

"I-I'm fine." Atem replied hurriedly, wincing in pain. "Really, I'm fine."

Nobody was convinced, of course, especially Amana. "AteemMuutou, sit down!" she ordered.

"But I'm-"

"No! Sit down!" Reluctantly, he did what he was told and took a seat upon a nearby rock. "Now let me see." Upon careful examination of his injured feet, the young Na'vi let out a gasp. "You really are a newcomer! Only newcomers have skin like a baby! No wonder you hurt your feet so easily!"

As she went over to collect leaves from a nearby plant, Yugi stared at the young Na'vi in curiosity. "Uh… Atem? Who's that girl?"

"She's a new friend Anzu and I met." Atem explained, "Her name is Amana."

"She seems very nice." Shizuka noted, smiling.

"Oh, you don't know half of it!" Anzu confirmed, "She actually saved our lives, holding back the thanator that was chasing us!" Soon Amana returned with the leaves she had harvested and lifted Atem's foot.

"Here, this might help." She stated, wrapping a leaf around the wound like a makeshift bandage. Atem winced a bit in pain, and his opposable toes curled as if to grip her hand. "You know, I have never met a dreamwalker with Na'vi feet before."

"The… dreamwalker teachers told me that as well." Atem explained, "Even they don't know why I have opposable toes like your people do."

"Are there any other dreamwalkers with Na'vi feet?" she asked as she applied the makeshift bandage to his other foot.

"No, just me." He replied with a sad smile. "Guess that makes me very strange, right?"

Amana gave him a reassuring smile. "No, you are not that strange to me." By then, she had finished bandaging his wounds. "There we go!"

"Ah, Irayo!" Atem sighed standing up carefully. "Now all that's left is to find the others and get back."

"Oh, right!" Yugi stated, "We need to look for Shizuka's brother, and two other guys! Not to mention the fact that Coach Sully is looking for us." Once more, however, the younger brother's empty stomach loudly announced its need.

"Uh… maybe we should eat something first." Anzu suggested.

"That's the problem." Yugi noted sheepishly, "We don't know what's edible in this jungle aside from the banana fruit, and I don't see a banana fruit anywhere around here!"

"Do not worry!" Amana stated, reaching into her leafy backpack and took out some food wraps. "I brought some food with me; you can have some if you like."

"Really?!" Shizuka gasped, "Thank you!"

"There is a small grove of eyaye over to the right of us," Amana noted as she passed the food around and pointed to the warbonnet ferns to their side, "We will rest there, but after we eat we will continue the journey."

"Sounds like a plan." Atem replied. As he and the others traveled toward the grove, he turned his attention toward Yugi. "By the way, Yugi, how did you and Shizuka manage to survive to this point?"

"Oh, you're not gonna believe the things that happened when we got separated!" Yugi began to explain. "We had a run-in with this weird animal that hunts by detaching its head… I think it's called a slinger. We barely managed to escape as it hit a popsicle plant…"

"Slow down Yugi!" Atem stated. The others laughed; after everything they've gone through thus far, they all knew that at least they could enjoy the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, a yapping noise echoed in the air around three more lost avatars. "Way to get us lost in the wrong part of the jungle, champ!" Honda stated sarcastically to his underdog friend as Seto wrapped his jacket around a long sharp stick.

"Oh, and whose idea was this?" Jonouchi snapped back.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?!" Seto barked, reaching upward to cover the jacket in some tree sap. "I told you you'll get us in trouble, but noooo, you just had to keep on pressing your goddamn luck!" Once the tip of his stick was thoroughly covered with sap, he positioned it so that it wasn't touching the ground. "Gimme the matches." The pair handed said matches over, unaware that a lupine animal was approaching them from within the growing shadows. And another, and another. It wasn't helping that the former billionaire was growing frustrated over the difficulty of lighting a match. "C'mon…!"

Jonouchi's stomach started growling at that moment. "I'm starving! I could really use a banana fruit right now."

"Well I don't see any banana fruits around here. Do you?" Honda grumbled.

"No."

"My point, exactly."

"Well, I guess we could always eat some other plants… if we know what's edible, that is."

"Go look them up in your survival guide!" Seto snapped.

"Uh… we don't have a survival guide." Jonouchi admitted, leading the former billionaire to groan.

"This is one of the reasons why I don't want to come here!" Seto growled, "Must I do everything myself?!" Eventually, he finally got a match to light up, and didn't hesitate to ignite the sap-covered jacket at the tip of his stick. But no sooner than he did so than everyone finally took notice of the pack of lupine animals that had been stalking them. They were mostly black with red or blue stripes, with green glowing eyes and four of their six limbs ending in paws with opposable thumbs. Jonouchi recognized them immediately.

"VIPERWOLVES!"

"LET'S GO!" Honda exclaimed, and he and the other two avatars ran. The pack of viperwolves followed them on hot pursuit. Upon noticing his pursuers, Honda leaped up onto the branch of a tree. "Ha!" he declared in triumph, "If there's one thing I know about wolves, it's that they don't climb trees!"

"That's where you're wrong with these guys!" Jonouchi exclaimed in panic. As if on cue, one of the viperwolves leaped up and climbed the branch right toward the mohawked avatar. Honda's grin instantly vanished from his face. Before he even knew it, the lupine animal was snapping at his heels for a few lengths until he jumped off the massive branch. "There's a plant somewhere that replicates the smell of a slinger!" Jonouchi explained as the chase continued, "We could use that plant about now, because Viperwolves hate the smell of slingers!"

"How the hell do you know all that stuff?!" Seto barked.

"Viperwolves are my favorite animals!" Jonouchi confessed, "And as such, I studied as much about them as I could!"

"Damn it Jonouchi," Honda yelled, "Why didn't you tell us that before?!"

"I guess it takes a Mutt to know a Mutt!" Seto mocked.

"SHUT UP RICH BOY!" Jonouchi bellowed. Suddenly a figure shot out of the shadows. The boys let out a shout in shock and Seto swang his flaming stick at the figure in an attempt to fight him off—only to have the flames reveal a very familiar face, who didn't hesitate to grab the stick and stop the attack!

"Hey!" Jake exclaimed, pulling the flaming torch out of the former billionaire's grip, "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

"COACH SULLY!" Honda gasped.

"Boy, are we glad to see you!" Jonouchi cried out in relief.

"No time for chit-chat you guys!" Jake stated, taking note of the growing number of viperwolves approaching them. "Follow me!" The threesome did just that, and even as the viperwolves yapped like hyenas from behind them the ex-marine led them to some open space. It didn't take long for all of them to realize that their pursuers have the advantage: soon, everywhere they looked, they were face to face with several viperwolves.

"We're surrounded!" Seto noted, "NOW what do we do?!"

Jake only glared as he watched the lupine animals snarl at him. "If there's one thing I know about animals, it's the 'fight or flight' response." He ditched his jacket and tossed the makeshift spear to the former billionaire, keeping the torch for himself. "Since they cut off our flight path, we have no choice: we're gonna have to fight!"

"Just don't hurt them _too much_, Coach!" Jonouchi requested, "I really like these guys!"

Jake stepped forward and took a fighting stance, addressing his opponents. "You want a piece of these kids? Then I don't have all Goddamn night!" he swung the torch threateningly. "C'MON! _**C'MON**_!" The viperwolves leaped up and attacked. The ex-marine swatted one of them with the torch. Two more viperwolves leaped into the fray from another direction—and surprisingly, they leaped over Jonouchi! Seto skewered the second and tossed it away.

"Jonouchi! Behind you!" Honda warned. The underdog spun around to come face to face with more of the lupine animals. The speed was such that he braced himself for the impact of their claws and teeth. But it never came; in fact, the viperwolves seemed to veer into another direction or leapt right over him again.

Jonouchi was stunned at this behavior. "That's weird! It's like they're trying to keep from hurting **me**!" It wasn't long before another viperwolf knocked the torch out of Jake's hands, leading him to unsheathe his knife and slice at another attacking animal. Another viperwolf grabbed hold of the Seto's spear and snapped it in two, then pounced on him as he tried to run away. The former billionaire used all the strength he could muster in the attempt to pry it off. Jake tried to rush over to help, but another viperwolf knocked him off his feet.

"COACH!" Honda exclaimed in horror. Jake kicked an attacking viperwolf out of the way, but as he was rising up, another viperwolf pounced on him and pinned him down. It snapped its jaws, trying its very best to take a bite out of the ex-marine, who was pushing it away with all the strength he could muster.

"Hang in there Coach Sully!" Jonouchi called out. But it was clear to all the avatars that they were in a losing battle.

Suddenly, two Na'vi women suddenly rushed out and the first one shot an arrow at the viperwolf attacking Jake. He managed to push the viperwolf off of him, and it was only when he readied his fist to punch the animal that he noticed the arrow sticking out of it. Honda and Jonouchi noticed it as well, and looked up to see the source. Jake looked up as well, just in time to see his rescuers spring into action.

Neytiri let out a yell as she shot another arrow at the viperwolves. Kii'sara was not far behind, and she leaped to the side of to strike the viperwolf that was attacking Seto, and another viperwolf in one graceful movement. She even let out a hiss like a cat to intimidate the lupine animals. Another viperwolf pounced on Neytiri and the both of them tumbling. She quickly pried it off of her and stabbed it furiously, though it was clear she detested doing so. She then moved on to chase the other viperwolves away, and Kii'sara joined in to round the animals up. It seemed that the viperwolf pack got the message, for they all ran away and disappeared into the brush. The Na'vi woman let out a final threatening hiss, looking around for any more danger. Jake and the other three avatars were up on their feet, amazed at what exactly had transpired.

Finally, Neytiri spun around, shielding her eyes a bit from the fire that was still alight. "Ugh… Fayvrrtep!" She then picked up the torch and took it toward the nearby river. "Faysawtute!"

"Hey wait—DON'T!" Jake shouted, trying to stop her. It was too late, though, for she had already tossed the torch into the water, extinguishing the fire. He could do nothing but chuckle dumbly at her and shrug.

While all that commotion was going on, Jonouchi heard the pained whimpers of an injured viperwolf not far from him. There was an arrow embedded in its side and he could tell that it was in immense pain. He couldn't help but look upon it with sympathy. Right then Kii'sara came over, a knife in her hand and she knelt over the wounded animal. "Oeru txoa li-" she began.

"NO!" Jonouchi shouted in horror, trying to shield the viperwolf, "PLEASE! I know you don't understand me, but please don't kill him! He's hurt enough already!" He hugged the viperwolf like it was a Terran puppy. "There's got to be way to save him!"

"If I could, I would save him." Kii'sara answered in Japanese, surprising the underdog to no end. "But I cannot. His wounds are too great. The only thing I can do now is end his suffering, even though it pains me as deeply as I see it does you."

The shock abated enough for Jonouchi to get the message, and realizing the truth of the albino Na'vi's words, his eyes misted with tears. "Th-then if there's no choice… could I least say goodbye to him first?"

Kii'sara paused a moment before she gave her answer. "Very well. You may do that."

"Thank you…" he whispered, and he hugged the dying viperwolf close to him. "I…" he stated, choking on growing sobs, "I know we've just met and all, but… I'm really gonna miss you! Goodbye little buddy! *sniff* Goodbye!" His sendoff done, he gently laid the lupine animal onto the grass, but not before he received a grateful lick on the cheek.

Seeing that he was finished, Kii'sara placed her knee on the viperwolf's neck and aimed her knife at the breathing hole. "Oeru txoa livu." Then she thrust the knife deep into the animal's chest. It fell dead instantly, leading Jonouchi to break down and cry. Even as he mourned the loss, he could sense that the albino Na'vi was feeling the same way. "Ma oeyä tsmukan, ma oeyä tsmukan."

Meanwhile, Jake was reaching out to retrieve the now-extinguished torch from the river. "I got the matches." Seto called out as the ex-marine climbed out of the water. "As soon as it dries up, let's light another fire so we can see where we're going."

"Uh… I don't think that would be necessary." Honda noted.

"Why not?" Jake asked. As soon as he got out though, he realized, as he looked around, what his student was implying.

"Jonouchi!" Honda called out, "C'mere! You gotta see this too!" Jonouchi came by, wiping the tears from his eyes… and upon looking at his surroundings he too was in awe.

Everywhere they looked, all the plants seemed to be glowing bright in brilliant greens, blues, and pinks. It was so bright that they were able to see where they are without the need of light sources like fire or flashlights.

"Whoa…" Jonouchi gasped, "Is… is this what Pandora looks like at _night_?"

"Isn't is obvious?" Seto answered, "Besides, even **we** are glowing!" The other avatars looked at themselves in amazement, seeing that the former billionaire was right; they were all covered with intricate patterns of tiny white spots, which they couldn't see in broad daylight.

"I've heard about how those patterns are like fingerprints," Honda mused, "meaning they identify individual Na'vi and even display their mood."

"Hey, speaking of Na'vi…" Jake stated, stepping toward the clearing. Neytiri had now stepped over toward a dead viperwolf and was kneeling down. He too, bent down, trying to start a conversation with her. "Look, I know you don't understand what I'm saying but…"

Neytiri didn't seem to be paying attention, stroking the animal. "Oeru txoa livu, ma oeyä tsmukan."

"Thank you for saving us." Jake continued.

"Hu nawma sa'nok tivul ngeyä tirea."

"Thank you…" Jake repeated, trying to get her to hear him.

"Oeru txoa livu." Neytiri finished, pulling the arrow from the corpse. She then turned her attention toward her albino companion, "Za'u ma Kii'sara."

"Srane!" Kii'sara replied.

"I mean, you girls are amazing!" Jake complimented. Only then did both Na'vi look up at him. _Finally! I got their attention!_ "We would have been screwed if you guys hadn't come along…" He looked up in time to see the two Na'vi girls walking away, seeming to ignore the ex-marine.

"Let 'em go Jarhead." Seto stated, "They're not worth your time."

But Jake wasn't listening. "Hey wait a second!" He rose up to follow.

"C-COACH SULLY!" Seto shouted in exasperation, chasing after the runaway teacher.

Jonouchi and Honda followed closely. "Whoa!" Jonouchi stated, "Who'd have thought that our assistant coach was a ladies' man?"

"He's clearly got hots for the older girl over there." Honda noted, pointing to Neytiri, "I wonder if that's the case with you and Coach Kujaku?"

"Shut up." The avatar students kept the pace, eager to see what would happen next and wanting to thank their rescuers as well.

"Hey C'mere!" Jake called out, eventually catching up with the Na'vi woman. He gently pushed Kii'sara over to the side and took hold of Neytiri's arm. "I-I just want to thank you for killing those things-"

WHAM!

Neytiri swung the blunt side of her bow right in Jake's face and knocked him to the ground.

"OW! DAMN!"

"Oooh, re-jected!" Honda muttered.

"Wrong thing to say, Coach!" Jonouchi noted.

Neytiri pointed the tip of her bow toward the ex-marine, the quiet fury burning in her eyes. "Don't thank!" she snapped in English, surprising the avatars. "You don't thank for _this_! This is sad! Very sad only!"

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Jake answered, "Whatever it is, I'm sorry!"

"Can she speak Japanese too?" Jonouchi asked his mohawked friend.

"If she knows English, she surely must know Japanese as well." Honda replied.

Neytiri and Kii'sara looked over at all of the avatars in front of them. This time, it was Kii'sara who spoke, in English this time. "You are all to blame for this, they did not have to die!"

"'We're to blame'?!" Seto barked, "You're the ones who killed most of them! And besides, those mutts were attacking us!"

"YOUR FAULT!" Kii'sara yelled, pointing a knife at the former billionaire who raised his hands in defense.

"Your fault, all of you!" Neytiri repeated, pressing the threat.

"Easy now...!" Jake tried to reason.

"You are all like babies," Neytiri growled, "Making noise, don't know what to do!"

"Oh really?!" Seto snapped, "What about your albino friend over there? She's pretty much a baby herself!"

"I am sixteen years old!" Kii'sara retorted, "Same age as you! And I am certainly more grown up than you will ever be!"

"All right, all right!" Jake stated firmly, rising to his feet, "Break it up! Break it up…" He turned toward the two Na'vi women. "If you two really care about your little forest friends over there, then why not just let them rip us all apart and kill us? What's the deal?"

"Why save you?" Neytiri summarized.

"Yeah, why save us?" Jake asked again.

There was a pause, before she gave a reply. "You have strong hearts. No fear." She glared at the group of avatars. "But **stupid**! Ignorant like the children you are!" The two Na'vi began to walk away once more. Jake grinned and lifted the unlit torch before following them once more with his students tagging along.

"Well, if we're like children, then how about you teach us!"

"Sky People do not learn!" Kii'sara replied, "They could not See."

"Then teach us how to 'See'!" Jake insisted as they began to navigate the large branch.

"No one can teach you to See!" Neytiri replied.

Jake stumbled a bit, lagging behind before he picked up the pace. "Aw c'mon, can't we talk about this? Wh-where'd you learn to speak English? Did Grace teach you? Do you know any Japanese as well?"

"That guy just doesn't give up!" Jonouchi noted.

"I guess that's why the other teachers call him the village idiot!" Honda presumed.

"Oh and you guys aren't?" Seto muttered.

"SHUT UP!" Jonouchi and Honda barked. Right in the middle of the thick branch, Jake slipped. Luckily, Neytiri caught him before he fell along with the unlit torch. Everyone stopped.

"You're all like babies!" Neytiri hissed before she let go. "Faysawtute!"

Jake grew serious and stared at the Na'vi woman. "I need your help."

She gestured and answered, "You should not be here. None of you should be here."

"What do you mean?" Honda asked.

"Wait a second…" Jonouchi gasped, "Don't tell me! Did we just…?"

Jake sighed. "I hate to tell you guys this, but in a way she's right. We've broken the rules and are now beyond TERF borders. And if I had to guess, Shizuka, Anzu and the Mutou brothers are beyond the borders too."

"Shizuka?!" Jonouchi gasped in shock.

"I'm sorry Jonouchi, but it's true. A thanator chased us into the wood and now everyone is separated and lost."

"Then we gotta find them!" Jonouchi insisted, "I'd be crushed if my sister got hurt or killed!"

"I intend on doing just that!" Jake stated, and turned toward Neytiri. "And now you see one of the reasons I need you to help me. You want us to leave? Then you'll have to help me find the others."

"_**You know, they might prove useful to us.**_" Kii'sara noted.

Neytiri nodded before facing Jake again. "All right. We will help you find the other dreamwalkers. But first, you must help me find my sister."

"Deal!" Jake agreed, before it dawned on him "Wait! You have a _sister_?!"

"Come," Kii'sara insisted, "all of you. You can look for her from above us."

"Sure!" Jonouchi replied eagerly. "Lead the way!"

"The sooner we find everyone, the sooner I can get back to Mokuba! He must be worried sick by now!" Seto added. And with this goal in mind, the newly-formed search team continued on their journey.

* * *

Note: In the next chapter of "Dreamhunter" Our heroes are reunited, but an unexpected appearance of a sacred seed takes their journey straight to the Omaticaya Hometree! How will the avatars fare when they come face to face with the clan's olo'eyktan and tsahik? You just have to wait and find out!

Here's some more Na'vi translations and name notes:

Amana- Mana

**Fayvrrtep!**-These demons!

**Faysawtute!**\- These Sky People!

**Oeru txoa livu. Ma oeyä tsmukan, ma oeyä tsmukan**\- Forgive me. My brother, my brother."

**Oeru txoa livu, ma oeyä tsmukan. Hu nawma sa'nok tivul ngeyä tirea. Oeru txoa livu**\- Forgive me, my brother. May your spirit run with the Great Mother. Forgive me.

**Za'u ma Kii'sara**\- Come Kii'sara.

**Srane**-Yes

Also, there's yet another little twist concerning Mana-or should I say, Amana- in this story. Until Next Time!


	5. The Chosen of Eywa

Note: Another Chapter finished! Things are really going smoothly! Anyway, our heroes are finally reunited, but a visit from a certain messenger of Eywa, things soon take on a whole new direction. Why was Amana wandering out by herself? And how will their clan react when they meet the avatars for the first time? Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Chosen of Eywa**

It had been a few hours since Atem and the others had finished their snack, and once more they had set off in their journey. Nighttime had already come, and all the avatars surveyed their bioluminescent surroundings in wonder. "Wow…!" Anzu gasped, "It's so beautiful out there!"

"Yeah," Yugi agreed, "And it's bright enough that you don't even need a flashlight to see your way around!"

"I love the colors they're giving!" Shizuka sighed dreamily. "Maybe I should take photos for reference in oil painting. I brought my tablet with me, you know."

Atem carefully stepped toward Amana. His feet were still sore, but the makeshift bandages managed to make the pain a bit more bearable. "Amana, I was wondering… are there nights when you don't see these lights at all?"

"Yes." Amana answered, "But those nights are rare. Very rare. I have yet to see such a night myself."

"I see… I suppose you hardly have a chance to see the stars. Did my grandfather teach you about the stars in the sky?"

"He did." Amana answered with a smile, "But I see the stars down here as well."

"Really? Where?"

"Hee, hee, hee! They're on us right now!"

Yugi looked upon the others, then at himself. Now he was smiling. "She's right, Brother! Look at us! We got constellations right on our skin!"

The other avatars did the same, and for a moment they were soon marveling at the glowing dots that now appeared on their bodies. "Oh wow!" Anzu gasped, "I think I see the Big Dipper!"

"I see Orion's Belt on me!" Shizuka joked cutely.

"Do you see Gemini on my face?" Atem asked for good measure.

The group burst with joyful laugher, before Amana finally stated, "Come now, let us move onward." And so they continued their travels in the glowing forest. Eventually, they came over to a huge thick branch overlooking the fantastic scenery of a canopy and waterfall. As they proceeded to cross this natural 'bridge', Atem finally decided to talk some more to his young Na'vi guide.

"I would like to get to know you better Amana" He stated, "First of all, how old are you?"

"Fifteen." Amana answered.

"Ah, so you're about the same age as we are!" Atem mused, then paused a bit as the realization suddenly hit him. "Wait a minute… how far is your Hometree from here?"

"Very far."

"What?! But… but why are you wandering out here all by yourself like that?!"

"You know, Atem's got a point." Anzu noted, "What are you doing out in the forest so far away from your home?"

Amana frowned, turning toward the avatars. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah, we do!" Yugi replied.

"Please tell us." Shizuka insisted.

The young Na'vi guide sighed and continued to cross the branch. "It is simple, really: I ran away from Hometree. And I do not intend on going back."

Atem and the other young avatars paused in shock. "Ran away?!" he gasped, rushing to catch up in spite of the pain in his feet. "But why? Why would you run away from home?"

Amana stopped, glaring. It took a few seconds of silence before she gave her answer, and the tone of her voice made it all to clear. "It is because I am angry. Angry at my father, angry at my sister… Angry at my people! That is why I ran away, going as far away from them as possible!" She continued moving across the branch, and the avatars hurried to catch up.

"I see…" Atem sighed, "But I still don't fully understand. What did your people do to make you so angry at them?" There was no reply. In fact the young Na'vi guide had stopped completely in the middle of the branch. "Amana?"

"Amana? What is it?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, why did you stop?" Shizuka asked in confusion. When they still didn't get a reply, the young avatars took a closer look at their new friend. She was looking upward; her eyes were all wide with wonder. They followed her gaze and soon discovered the source of her amazement… and what they saw took their breath away.

Fluttering above them were a growing number of glowing… what exactly _**are**_ they? The avatars couldn't tell. They had the shape of jellyfish, and they move much like jellyfish do, but they all float like dandelion seeds. Whatever they might be, they seemed to be gliding gently toward the group.

"Whoa…" Yugi gasped, "Grandpa never said anything about this!" Soon a few of the seeds reached them and started floating around them.

"They're so beautiful… Uh, they're not gonna hurt us, are they?" Anzu asked.

"No." Amana replied, her smile returning. "Not at all."

A seed gently floated toward Yugi's snout, and he blew gently. The seed seemed to spin before floating downward again. Just the sight of it was enough to make everyone smile. Yugi and Anzu giggled. Another seed rested on the back of Anzu's hand, and Yugi quietly pointed it out. Seeing it, the avatar girl looked in surprise for a moment… then gently blew it off, watching and laughing as the seed spun in upward flight.

"Oh, I've got to record this!" Shizuka finally declared, searching her tablet for camera mode. "This is something I'm going to show the students back at school!"

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from the other side of the branch. And it sounded really angry.

"AMANA!"

The young Na'vi guide and her friends all looked to find another Na'vi woman, around the same age as Mai Kujaku, storming toward them. Amana's face immediately had a look of dread.

"AMANA TE TSKAHA MO'AT'ITE!" Neytiri repeated.

"Wiya!" Amana muttered.

"Who's that?" Atem asked.

"That is my sister!" Amana replied. Soon Neytiri reached the group and grabbed hold of her little sister's ear, tugging it hard.

"_**Amana! Do you not realize how dangerous it is to run off on your own like that?! I have never been so afraid for you in my life!**_" Neytiri snapped, "_**You could have been killed just like Sylwanin!**_"

"LET HER GO!" Atem demanded. The elder Na'vi sister did just that, but the anger didn't fade when she saw them.

"_**Who are these creatures?**_" she demanded to Amana.

"_**They're not just creatures,**_ _**Ma Tsmuke!**_" Amana shot back in defense, "_**They're my friends!**_"

"_**You know it is forbidden to make contact with the Sky People!**_" Neytiri argued, "_**Why do you continue to disobey our father?!**_"

The argument immediately came to a stop when some new figures came into view. An albino Na'vi girl rushed up… followed by a group of very familiar faces!

"ATEM! YUGI! ANZU! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" Jake shouted out, rushing with his group of avatar students in tow.

"It's Coach Sully!" Anzu gasped in joy.

"And look who's with him!" Yugi exclaimed, pointing to the other lost avatars. "It's Kaiba, Honda and-"

"KATSUYA!" Shizuka finished, "OH KATUYA, YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Jonouchi lit up as soon as he saw his little sister, and ran toward her as fast as he could. "SHIZUKA! Oh thank God I found you!"

"WAIT!" Shizuka shouted suddenly as the rest of the group approach, holding out a hand and stopping them. "Don't come close to us yet! You'll hurt these little things floating around us!"

"What little things?!" Seto growled, "What the hell are you talking about?" Neytiri looked up at the seeds floating above and gasped in wonder. Seeing her companion's reaction, Kii'sara also looked up. Then Jake, then Seto, and finally Jonouchi and Honda.

"Whoa!" Honda gasped in awe. Soon more of the seeds floated downward and became close enough to the large group.

"Shizuka… are you recording this?" Jonouchi asked, star-struck.

"Yeah, I'm doing it right now!" Shizuka replied, holding up her tablet.

When a seed came close to Seto's side, the former billionaire swatted it away. "Ftang nga!" Kii'sara snapped taking hold of his hand to keep him swatting any more.

"What?!" Seto grumbled.

"_**A sign from Eywa…**_" Neytiri gasped, before noticing that Jake was swatting a seed as well. "NO!" she grabbed hold of the ex-marine's arm, then with reverence she revealed the identity of the floating seed. "**Atokirina!**"

"Atokirina?" Atem repeated, "That's what you call them?" Soon the 'swarm' of said atokirina began to hover around the whole group in a larger mass.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but those things are starting to surround us!" Honda noted. "I sure hope they're harmless."

As if to prove the mohawked avatar correct in his hopes, more and more seeds rested gently on them. Soon all the avatars relaxed. Atem even raised his arms to let a number of them perch on him, and marveled at their beauty. Jake did the same, examining one of the atokirina resting on his hand. "What are they?" the ex-marine asked.

"Seeds of the Sacred Tree." Neytiri answered, "Very pure spirits."

"Uh-huh…" Seto muttered as several seeds rested on his head.

"Ah, so these seeds are very important to you." Atem stated to Amana.

"Not just me, but to all the Na'vi people." Amana noted, "The atokirina is the bringer of important signs and omens. In fact, while I was traveling, I saw an atokirina float out of the brush and call to me. I followed it, and it led me to you just as you and AnzuuMazaaki were escaping from that palulukan!" Atem's red-orange eyes widened in amazement.

By now, all the atokirina had rested on the avatars, and three individuals in particular were completely covered by them from head to toe: Jake, Seto, and of course, Atem. "You're so cute!" Shizuka giggled and cooed, "You look like Christmas Trees!" The seeds lingered a while in their spots. Then finally, they all floated off the avatars and began a slow departure.

"Whoop, there they go!" Jonouchi noted, "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted."

"Wh-what just happened?" Seto asked.

"Never mind that." Jake stated, addressing his students, "Now that I found you all, it's time to go back to school grounds. And the sooner, the better, because we are now beyond the borders of TERF, the place where we shouldn't be!"

"What?!" Yugi gasped, "Aw man! We're in big trouble!"

"Yes, we are. Fortunately, if I'm correct, the teachers would have sent Ironheart to find us. So let's find out way back into the border and wait for him to pick us up-"

"No!" Neytiri suddenly stated, grabbing the attention of all the avatars and the two teenage Na'vi girls.

"Ma Tsmuke?!" Amana queried in confusion. What her sister said next startled everyone.

"Come."

"Wh-what?" Jake stuttered.

She reached out and pulled the ex-marine toward her. "Come! All of you!"

"_**Ma Tsmuke? What are you doing?**_" a puzzled Amana asked her sister.

"_**I had my doubts, but now I am certain: it is clearly a sign from Eywa.**_" Neytiri explained, "_**We are bringing them all to Hometree.**_"

The eyes of the younger Na'vi sister grew wide with amazement, unable to believe what she had heard. "_**R-really?!**_"

"_**Yes!**_" Kii'sara confirmed, "_**Now tell them to follow!**_"

Joy swelled within her heart and she turned toward the other avatars. "You heard my sister! Come! Come with us!"

"A-are you sure?" Anzu asked as their new friend tugged at Atem by his arm.

"Yes! Hurry!" Amana replied excitedly, and soon all the avatars were following the Na'vi deeper into the woods.

Approaching a grove of anemonids, Atem shouted, "Where are we going?"

"Kelutral Omaticaya!" Amana answered.

"What?"

"Hee hee hee! The Omaticaya Hometree, silly! That is where I live!"

As the group passed by, Jake noticed how the anemonids started glowing brighter as they came close. "Wow!" Yugi gasped and started tapping a few, making the plant's light react to his touch. Being curious himself, Jake followed in suit.

"Hey, let me try that!" Jonouchi called out, but the others had barely gotten to play when Neytiri called to them again.

"Come!"

"Za'u!" Kii'sara repeated.

The boys stopped 'horsing around' to say the least. "All right, we're coming!" Seto responded.

All the while, Atem was surprised by the answer he received from Amana. He paused momentarily as he stepped into a puddle and watched in fascination as the ripples made with each step brought forth a pink light that spread outward. He didn't linger long as all the others were heading in the same direction. "Omaticaya Hometree… your Hometree… but I thought you didn't want to go back there!" he called out as they ran.

The whole group was now traveling by another branchy pathway, when Amana giggled. "That was before Eywa sent us her sign, telling my sister to bring you!"

"That's the second time I heard that name. I-I don't mean to be rude, Amana, but… who's Eywa?"

"Watch your step guys." Jake warned the avatars, "Don't want you to slip and fall."

No sooner than the ex-marine finished than a spinning vine came out of the shadows, entangling Jonouchi by the legs. Knocked off balance, he screamed as he fell off to the side and landed on the ground below. "KATSUYA!" Shizuka shouted, and everyone stopped to see the fallen underdog.

"Jonouchi!" Jake scolded, "I told you to watch your step!"

"I was!" Jonouchi exclaimed. "Something grabbed me by the legs!"

Atem immediately realized that danger was close by, and before anyone else could react, he quickly leapt off the branch to help his fallen classmate. "AteemMuutou! Wait!" Amana exclaimed. But the elder Mutou twin was already on the ground.

"Jonouchi! Hold still!" he stated as he knelt down to help untangle the vine that held the underdog captive. As they pulled it off they examined every detail of it.

"That's weird," Jonouchi noted, "I don't recall any vines that look like this."

"It's not a vine." Atem stated, "It's a rope!" He briefly scanned his surroundings. "I have a bad feeling about this…" They had barely risen up to their feet when they finally took notice.

Three direhorses galloped into view—and on the back of each of them was a Na'vi warrior!

"Oh boy, we've got company!" Jonouchi exclaimed, "And they sure don't look friendly!"

"Let's go!" Atem shouted and the two of them turned to run away. But a Na'vi male sporting several loose braids and wearing some kind of armor made of animal bones raised his staff and chanted a spell, whereupon large roots burst from the ground and grabbed hold of the elder Mutou twin by the legs, waist and neck.

Jonouchi kept on running—only to find himself face to face with more hostile Na'vi, their arrows pointing in his direction.

"GUYS!" Jake shouted, jumping down with dagger in hand.

"Hang in there Atem!" Yugi exclaimed, joining his teacher.

"What are you waiting for?! C'mon!" Anzu barked, dragging Seto by the arm, while Honda followed close behind Shizuka. But no sooner than the other avatars made their landing than more Na'vi appeared out of nowhere, with spears aimed toward Yugi, Anzu and Shizuka. Jake, Seto and Honda managed to maneuver out of the way, but just as they got close to Atem, they too were forced to raise their hands up as another group of horse-riding warriors came along with their bows and arrows. The whole air was filled with the Na'vi's shouts, as the avatars found themselves surrounded on all sides.

"Now what do we do?" Shizuka cried.

"We'll do what Grace told us to do." Jake answered, dropping his knife, "Just hold your ground." Atem grunted, tugging on the roots to prevent them from choking him.

Right in the nick of time, Neytiri, Kii'sara and Amana jumped in to the rescue. "MAWEY!" Kii'sara shouted.

"Mawey, Na'viyä! Mawey!" Neytiri called.

"Mawey, mawey!" Amana shouted likewise, running around so the others could hear as well. The eyes of the other Na'vi widened in amazement when they saw the younger sister of Neytiri.

"Amana!" they all started gasping. The Na'vi male in armor dismounted, and strode toward her.

"Amana!" he stated sternly as another Na'vi male proceeded to dismount as well.

"Ma Karyu!" Amana gasped, right when the Na'vi in armor proceeded to grab her by the ear.

"_**Where in the Great Mother's canopy have you been?!**_" he snapped, "_**We have been searching everywhere for you!**_"

Amana managed to snag herself away from her teacher's grip, and backed away from him. "_**Let them go Ma Karyu!**_"

"_**Have you gone blind?**_" The other Na'vi male growled. "_**You know these demons are forbidden here.**_"

"_**Tsu'tey, they are NOT demons!**_" Amana barked defiantly. To her horror, the armored Na'vi male raised his hands and staff again, summoning another root—with it its sharp tip aimed straight toward Atem! "MA KARYU! KEHE!" Thrusting his staff forward, he willed the root to shoot ahead to strike the elder Mutou twin.

Neytiri stepped in front of its path. "Ftang nga!" she shouted, and the root stopped in its tracks. "_**Release him now!**_" Stunned, the armored Na'vi obeyed and withdrew the roots, freeing Atem. While her sister and Jake helped him to his feet, Neytiri glared at the two Na'vi males. "_**Tsu'tey! Madaro! What are you doing?!**_"

The armored Na'vi, Madaro, stared at the Na'vi woman in shock, but it was the second Na'vi male, Tsu'tey, who spoke. "_**Since when have you sided with your sister?!**_"

"_**There has been a sign!**_" Neytiri answered, "_**This is a matter for the Tsahik!**_"

"_**I would listen to her if I were you.**_" Kii'sara added.

"_**Kii'sara!**_" Madaro gasped, "_**You too…?!**_" The silence that followed was deafening.

Finally, Tsu'tey turned toward his direhorse and gave his answer. "_**Bring them!**_" The rest of the Na'vi search party, understanding the meaning of this command, quickly rounded up the avatars. But it was clear that none of them were gentle in doing so.

"HEY, OW!" Jonouchi cried as a Na'vi tugged on his queue.

"Don't hurt us!" Shizuka pleaded.

It was Seto who struggled. "Get your hands off of me!" To his frustration, his demands were ignored. As the others were gathered, Atem watched as Tsu'tey took his queue and 'plugged' it in to the antenna on his direhorse, with no effort at all, before mounting the animal. The light seemed to ripple with the action.

_That's exactly what I did hours ago!_ He thought as he observed Madaro doing the same. His thoughts were quickly interrupted, as the Na'vi on horseback galloped away, and soon he found himself being dragged along by the rest of the Na'vi search party. And the fact that they were traveling on foot didn't do much to help his wounded feet.

"Where are you taking us?!" Yugi exclaimed in worry. The Na'vi did not answer, but continued to pull him and all the other avatars with them.

"HEY!" Jake shouted, and the entire group started moving onward to what they hope would be the destination promised to them by Amana.

* * *

About an hour later, the Na'vi warriors on horseback arrived at the entrance of a gigantic tree. Its trunk towered high toward the sky, while its leafy canopy stretched outward and upward like fingers of a hand. Madaro and Tsu'tey rode ahead, raising their staff and bow to signal their return to the rest of their clan. Not far away, the rest of the Na'vi search party arrived, with avatars in tow. The students looked up at the massive tree ahead.

"Is that the Omaticaya Hometree?" Anzu gasped.

"Srane." Kii'sara answered, "Yes, it is."

"Damn! Look at the size of that thing!" Jonouchi stated, "Our Dormtree looks like a shrubbery compared to that!"

Apparently, the same was true for the inside of the Hometree, as they passed through the entrance and finally came face to face with its inhabitants. Several families in the Omaticaya clan came forward to greet Neytiri, Kii'sara and the returning Amana. But when their eyes laid on the eight avatars, their jubilant shouts became chatterings of suspicion and/or curiosity. It was safe to say the avatars were just as stunned by the sheer numbers that now proceeded to surround them, eager for a closer look.

"Wow!" Yugi gasped in awe, "There's so many of them!"

One Na'vi was brave enough to tap on to Jake as if to see if he was real. He flinched.

"I'd be taking pictures if I wasn't so scared right now." Shizuka admitted, feeling all the eyes on her and her friends.

As they traveled deeper into the heart of the Hometree, Atem observed the crowds of Omaticaya Na'vi. "So this is your people, the Omaticaya." He noted to Amana. "Rough crowd."

"I am sorry that they treat you this way." Amana stated, "It was not always like this."

"So where are we going now?"

"To meet the Olo'eyktan, Clan leader. Though I admit, I am dreading it at this moment."

At a totem close by a spiraling trunk, the avatars could see the two Omaticaya warriors conversing with a heavily decorated older Na'vi male. Atem correctly assumed that this was the aforementioned olo'eyktan, noting that he was around the same age as his own father.

"Amana, come here." Neytiri stated, to which the younger Na'vi sister reluctantly obeyed. It was then that the olo'eyktan, Eytukan, looked up to face them, his eyes widening at the younger Na'vi girl. "Ma Sempul…" Neytiri greeted, bowing her head. "Oel ngati kameie." She smacked Amana on the back of her head, prompting her to step forward.

"Ah… O-oel ngati k-kame Ma Sempu." She stuttered.

"_**Amana, Ma 'ite!**_" Eytukan gasped, stepping forward to hug his younger daughter, "_**Thank Eywa you are safe! Your mother and I had been so worried about you-**_"

"_**Ma Sempu!**_" Amana interrupted, backing away, "_**I-I'm sure Madaro and Tsu'tey have already told you about this, but…**_" She directed him to the avatars, and the Omaticaya Olo'eyktan glowered at them, stepping forward to examine them. As he walked passed them, Yugi swallowed nervously, and Jonouchi trembled. In fact, nearly all the avatars were nervous over this first meeting, so much so that they dared not utter a sound. Seto returned the glare, while Jake simply nodded in acknowledgement. Eytukan lingered when he saw Atem, and the elder Mutou twin's ears drooped, his expression like that of a child about to get a scolding. Even his tail was hanging between his legs.

"Uh… Hello…" Atem stuttered, trying to ease the tension, "A-awvea… ultxa-ri o… oengeyä, naw-ma… s-sa'nok lrrtok… s-sivei." To his disappointment, Eytukan's glare didn't vanish; if he had been impressed with this attempt at a formal greeting, he definitely wasn't showing it.

Finally the Omaticaya Olo'eyktan turned back toward his daughter. "_**These creatures,**_" he queried harshly, "_**why did you bring them all here? Is it bad enough that you run off into the forest on your own?!**_"

"_**Ma Sempu, I can explain!**_" Amana retorted.

"_**I have said to you many times, contact with dreamwalkers is strictly forbidden! And furthermore, no dreamwalkers are allowed to come here, including dreamwalker children! Their alien scent fills my nose.**_"

"What is he saying?" Atem asked. But his question was ignored as Amana continued her defiant protest.

"_**Ma Sempu, they are NOT just aliens!**_"

"_**Let me explain to him, Ma Tsmuke.**_" Neytiri insisted, "_**After all, I brought them here as well.**_"

Eytukan's eyes widened in shock. "_**Neytiri! You of all the people… but why?**_"

"_**I was going to kill them,**_" Neytiri explained, to which Amana stared in horror, "_**but there was a sign from Eywa.**_"

"_**You tried to KILL them?!**_" Amana gasped, "_**Ma Tsmuke, HOW COULD YOU?!**_"

"What is she saying?" Jake asked.

Neytiri turned around and answered, "My sister is trying to protect you from our father, as he is deciding whether to kill you."

"Y-your father?" Jake muttered in realization.

"Your father?!" Atem gasped in surprise to Amana, "The Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya is _your father_?! Th-then that means you're a princess, right?!"

"You might say that." Amana replied smugly.

Jake trying to be friendly, reached a hand out to the Omaticaya Olo'eyktan. "It's nice to meet you sir-"

The warriors lunged toward the ex-marine, baring their fangs and pointing their weapons. Neytiri hissed at him as well.

"YAGH!" Jonouchi exclaimed, "Please don't kill us!"

Suddenly a voice of an older female boomed out with authority. "_**RELEASE THOSE CREATURES!**_" From the spiral trunk came an older female Na'vi in a shawl, as heavily decorated as Eytukan. "_**Step back!**_" she commanded, striding toward the avatars, "_**I will look at these aliens.**_"

"And this woman is?" Seto asked.

"That is Mother." Neytiri answered, "She is Tsahik, the one who interprets the will of Eywa."

"Who's Eywa?" Atem asked once more.

"'Who's Eywa?!' Why, that's a silly question!" a voice echoed from behind them, and the others turned to see a very familiar face indeed!

"Ironheart, you found us!" Anzu exclaimed.

Ironheart smiled as he strode his way to the other avatars. "I had spent nearly the whole day searching for you," he explained, "And since I couldn't find you within TERF borders, I figured that you somewhere in the forest beyond. Naturally, when I saw you being taken by the Omaticaya, I followed you here. I was surprised to hear the reason as to why they brought you to Omaticaya Hometree in the first place, especially since I am fluent in their tongue. So is it true? Did a woodsprite really come to you?"

"Woodsprite?" Honda queried.

"The Na'vi call it atokirina."

"Oh! Oh yeah!" Yugi gasped, "Yeah they did! There was a huge swarm of them, and they rested upon us for a while! The largest numbers were on Seto, Coach Sully, and my brother!"

"Yeah, I even have a video of it on my tablet as proof!" Shizuka confirmed.

There was a thoughtful look in the wise man's eyes. "I see… Under normal circumstances, I would gather you up and bring you back to school grounds immediately. But this changes everything!"

"How so?" Atem asked.

"Perhaps the Tsahik will provide you with the answers." Ironheart suggested, and turned toward said Tsahik. "Go ahead, Mo'at."

"You know her?" Seto asked incredulously. As the Tsahik, Mo'at, began to examine the avatars, Ironheart went ahead with his explanation.

"Now, you are wondering as to who is Eywa, correct?" The avatars nodded. "Why, she is the matron deity of the Na'vi people, their Mother Goddess. She is made up of all living things here in this world."

"Spare me the fairy tales, old man." Seto grumbled, to which Kii'sara gave a threatening hiss.

"Do not dare to insult our Great Mother like that!"

"I'd listen to her if I were you, Kaiba," Ironheart stated, "She is no mere myth! Love her, and she will return your love a thousand-fold, I always say." Mo'at took hold of Jake's tail, and he stared a bit warily as she examined him. "Do not be afraid of Tsahik." Ironheart advised, "She may come off as hard as stone, but she is very wise in the ways of Eywa. It would do you good to listen to what she says."

"Uh, in that case, can you translate her words for us Ironheart?" Jonouchi asked.

"No need." Ironheart replied, "Unlike her mate, she can speak English and Japanese very well."

Mo'at lingered especially long on Atem, before she finally turned to face the eight avatars before her. "What are you called?" she queried. The avatars tried to introduce themselves simultaneously. "One at a time! ONE! AT! A! TIME!" Finally getting the message, the avatars tried again, this time more properly.

"Jake Sully."

"Seto Kaiba."

"Katsuya Jonouchi."

"Shizuka Kawaii."

"Honda Hiroto."

"Anzu Mazaki."

"Yugi Mutou."

"Atem Mutou."

The introductions finished, Mo'at unsheathed a small spindle-like object and pricked Atem on the shoulder. He was so distracted with the pain in his feet that he hardly noticed the sharp point of the object piercing the skin. The Omaticaya Tsahik took the blood-soaked spindle to her mouth for an experimental lick. The young avatars had no idea why she was doing it, but they dared not to ask. She continued her questioning. "Why have you all come here?"

"The same reason all dreamwalkers come here." Atem answered truthfully, "We came to learn."

Replacing the spindle to the sheath, Mo'at replied, "We have tried to teach many Sky People before you. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail. After all, it is hard to fill a cup that is already full."

Jake decided to speak on behalf of his students. "Well, all of our cups are empty. These seven may be adolescents but they're still just kids. As for me, I'm no scientist and I barely got started in being a teacher."

"What are you then?"

Jake looked over to Ironheart, and sensing where the conversation was going, the wise man nodded in encouragement. The assistant coach thought hard on how to word his answer. "I was a marine. As in… a warrior from the Jarhead Clan."

"On a side note," Ironheart added mischievously, "He is best known as the clan's village idiot."

"Oh sure, rub it in." Jake muttered.

"_**A warrior?!**_" Tsu'tey exclaimed, raising his bow, "_**Madaro and I could kill him easily!**_"

"_**No!**_" Eytukan shouted, stopping the attack before it could start. "_**This is the first warrior dreamwalker we have seen! We need to learn more about him AND the children that accompanied him!**_"

The clan members seemed to agree with him, much to the hopeful amazement of the younger Omaticaya princess. "_**Ma Sa'nu? Is it what I think it is? Are the dreamwalkers really going to stay with us?**_"

"_**Yes, Amana,**_" Mo'at confirmed, "_**And they will learn alongside you.**_"

"_**Oh I'm so happy! Thank you Ma Sa'nu!**_" Amana cried in joy, bouncing up and down.

The Omaticaya Tsahik turned toward the elder of her two daughters. "_**Neytiri, you are to teach them our way,**_"—both Omaticaya princesses let out a shocked yelp—"_**to walk and act as we do.**_"

"_**But why me? It's not fair!**_" Neytiri complained.

"_**Yeah, it's not fair!**_" Amana whined, "_**Why not have another dreamwalker teach them our way, like Ironheart or SugorokuuMuutou?**_"

"_**It is decided.**_" Mo'at answered casually, "_**And I am sure you agree that this arrangement is much better than having them killed, don't you think?**_" Neytiri cursed while Amana simply pouted. The Omaticaya Tsahik stepped forward to address the avatars. "It is decided. From this day forward, you are to stay with us, and the older of my two daughters will teach you our ways. Learn well, everyone. Then we shall see if your insanity can be prevented."

"Or in your case," Ironheart stated to Jake, "cured completely."

"What are you talking about Ironheart?" Honda asked.

"It's nothing." Ironheart replied hurriedly. "In the meantime, I'll get you started a bit before I leave. Now, there is a proverb back on Earth that fits well with this kind of situation. Do any of you know what it is?" The younger Mutou twin raised his hand. "Yes Yugi?"

"Obey the customs of the village you enter." He answered.

"Correct. The same applies to Na'vi villages, so you know what that means. The first thing you need to do is dress like the Na'vi. As you are now currently apprentices of the Omaticaya clan, your new 'school uniform' will start out very simple. That means you too, Jake; you may be a teacher among the dreamwalkers, but here, you're a student like the rest of them. Now follow me, I'll lead you to a place where you can change."

"Aw man! Do we have to?" Jonouchi whined. In fact, most of them were a little hesitant at the thought of wearing the native costume.

"Relax, it's not really as bad as you think!" Ironheart assured and began to lead them in another direction. Looking down at Atem's feet, the wise man added, "See, Atem here is already on his way…"—Atem let out a whimper of pain with each step—"although, it _is_ clear he's not ready for more rugged terrain as of yet."

Mo'at looked down as well, and gasped upon seeing the injuries through the now-tattered makeshift bandages. "You there! AteemMuutou! Show me your feet." Atem stopped, leaned onto a trunk and lifted a foot, allowing the Omaticaya Tsahik to remove the leaves and examine it. "Ah, the surprises continue to come. You seem to be the first dreamwalker I have seen that has the feet of a true Na'vi. Still, there is no doubt that they are soft like baby skin." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I will see to it that the healers give you the proper treatment as you put on the proper clothes." Atem nodded, and she called for one of the Na'vi healers of the clan, who did not hesitate to accompany him as he rejoined the other avatars.

* * *

By the time Amana and Neytiri emerged to the communal feasting hall with the eight avatars, Ironheart had already departed and dinner had just gotten started. The boys were reduced to nothing more than loincloths, while the girls had something similar to a primitive bikini top to add to theirs. The wounds on Atem's feet were now properly cleaned and dressed, the color of the cloth bandages matching the color of loincloth: a dark tan. He smiled at the fact that the treatment had dramatically lessened the pain, as the medicines were working their magic, allowing him to concentrate more on the moment.

"Oy, I'm really starting to feel a draft up here." Jonouchi muttered.

"We know what you mean, Jonouchi." Jake replied, a bit worried that his loincloth might fall off for some reason.

"On the other hand," Honda noted with a grin, "since everyone else is dressed a similar way, I'd say the view is worth looking at!"

"You better not be checking out my sister!" Jonouchi threatened.

"Oh great, just what a need," Anzu grumbled, "a couple of perverts." Seto just rolled his eyes in annoyance. As for Shizuka, the fear she initially had had since abated, and now she was looking forward to this unexpected new venture. It was not long before all eyes were on the Hometree's new residents.

"Eh, good evening." Jake greeted. Not surprisingly, the Na'vi didn't answer, only stared. "Please don't get up." Soon he and the other young avatars were led to their places at the gathering. In his clumsiness, he stepped on the tail of one of the Na'vi, who was quick to express her pain. "Sorry." He turned toward his students. "Watch your step guys."

"We know." Yugi answered, narrowly avoiding the tails in his path.

"Over here!" Amana called to Atem, who hurried over to join her. It turned out his seat was close by Jake, who was in between the two Omaticaya princesses. The clan resumed their normal routine.

"How do you say hello?" Atem asked.

"Kaltxi."

With the knowledge in mind, the elder Mutou twin decided to test his new greeting to a Na'vi male close by. "Kaltxi." Upon closer inspection, he noticed a child close by. She seemed to reach out to him, unafraid. The male, whom he presumed was the child's father, gently pushed her back, telling her to behave. Atem couldn't help but smile. Soon Neytiri took her seat by Jake and began passing out platters of food to the new residents.

"Aw man, it's about time!" Jonouchi stated, "I'm starving. I'm not sure about the menu, though."

Anzu stared at the cooked teylu grubs in her platter. "Normally, I'd be grossed out at the thought of eating those things. But if it takes eating grubs to get along with our new neighbors, might as well dig in."

"Good idea." Honda replied, "Besides, I'm too hungry to even care." With that, he plopped a grub into his mouth and started chewing. His eyes widened in amazement, and a huge grin appeared on his lips. "No way! This stuff is great!"

"You're kidding, right?" Seto stated.

"C'mon, try it!" Honda insisted. With a bit of hesitation, Anzu, Jonouchi, Shizuka and Yugi put the teylu in their mouth. The taste was indeed a very pleasant surprise!

"Mmmm! You're right Honda!" Shizuka cheered. "It's delicious!"

"Yeah, it tastes like shrimp tempura!" Jonouchi added enthusiastically, before he proceeded to gorge himself on the grub.

"Hey! Don't hog it all!" Yugi scolded, "Save some for the rest of the clan!" While Amana giggled at the antics of her new friends, Madaro and Tsu'tey did not share her joy. Tsu'tey, in particular, was busy glaring at Jake, who was now striking up a conversation with Neytiri.

"You know," Jake stated, "I never got a chance to know your name."

"Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite." The elder Omaticaya princess replied, taking a good bite out of a teylu.

"Can you make it a little shorter?"

"Neytiri."

"Neh-ti-yi."

"Ney-TI-RI." She corrected.

"Neytiri." Jake finally pronounced correctly. "Well, it's nice to meet you Neytiri. Very nice."

As his school coach proceeded with his meal, Atem decided to try his formal greeting on his new teacher. "Neytiri…" he stated as respectfully as he could, grabbing her attention, "Ma Karyu… Awvea ultxari oengeyä… nawma sa'nok lrrtok sivei." He turned toward Amana. "Did I say that right?"

"You are getting better!" she answered.

Not fully impressed, Neytiri paused for a moment before she added, "Needs work."

* * *

When the avatars had finished their dinner, they had a tour of their new home away from home. By the time they were done, it was time to go to bed. So it was no surprise that the last place for them to see was the communal sleeping area. "You'll be sleeping individually for now." Amana stated as proceeded to climb into her hammock, "At least until you get used to living here."

"All right then!" Jonouchi announced, "I don't want to keep the teachers waiting!" As he did back in the Dormtree, he leapt into his hammock—only to spin and fall out with a yelp. He landed on a couple of Na'vi individuals (who indignantly push him off) before finally crashing to the ground below them. The rest of the Omaticaya burst into laughter.

"Only a mutt like you could fall out of bed without even trying!" Seto mocked.

"SHUT UP RICH BOY!" Jonouchi bellowed from the below. The rest of the avatars were more careful climbing into their hammocks. Atem was lucky enough to have his between Amana and Yugi. Below him, he could see Jake climbing into the one by Neytiri's. The ex-marine rested in a position that gave away the indication that he was trying to flirt with the older Omaticaya princess via body language. _Coach Jake Sully, a ladies' man._ Atem thought with a smug smile, _Who would have thought?_ Needless to say, she was not impressed, and she wrapped the flexible hammock around her like a cocoon before drifting off to slumber. Getting the drift, Jake mimicked the action, before preparing to return to his body… wherever that might be, Atem could only guess.

"What a day!" Yugi sighed, "In all my life, I never thought that things would turn out the way it did!"

"Yeah, me neither." Atem noted, "To think that this is now our dorm and our classroom! I'm pretty nervous just thinking about it."

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to think things over. Personally, I think that this whole experience is going to be fun!" Yugi assured, before wrapping his hammock around him. "Well, from one dream to another, may we meet again!"

"Right Yugi…" Atem replied, curling himself up. "From one dream to another, may we meet again." With that Yugi drifted off and disconnected the link for the night.

"Good night AteemMuutou." Amana stated, "See you tomorrow."

Soon everything was growing quiet, save only for the sounds of nature around him. As much as he loathed it, he had to return to the human world, and that means back to his crippled body. He willed himself to relax as much as he could. Finally he drifted off.

* * *

"Atm…Atem… Atem!" A familiar voice called to him as he felt himself return. Once his vision cleared, he found himself looking up at the face of Grace Augustine, with his grandfather and Pegasus behind her. The former of the three was flashing a light into his eyes. "About time you came back! Your grandfather was really worried about you and Yugi!"

"Come on, Atem Boy, let's get you up!" Pegasus stated, as he and Norm lifted up the disabled older twin, helping him get his bearings.

"Th-thank you." Atem replied, and slowly, he was lifted out of the link bed and placed into his wheelchair. "Don't worry, all the avatars are safe." He grinned as his fellows close by chatted about the unexpected events of the day. "And you are not going to believe where we are!"

"Ironheart told me." Grace stated, "And still I do not believe it!"

Mokuba rushed over to Seto, giving him a big hug. "Big Brother!" he exclaimed, his voice hinting excitement, "Is it true? Are you really at the Omaticaya Hometree?"

"Yeah, Mokuba I am." Seto answered.

"That is SO COOL! I was worried that you'd get eaten by viperwolves or thanators, but instead you get to stay in a real Hometree, learning directly from the masters! I am so jealous!"

"That doesn't mean I like it." Seto muttered.

Atem suddenly grew worried, remembering the safety rule that he and the other six students had broken. "Dr. Augustine? Y-you're not angry at us for going beyond the borders of TERF, are you?" he asked nervously.

To his surprise, Grace smiled. "Not this time, Atem. Not this time."

* * *

Note: And so the stage is set! But in the next chapter, when news of the avatar's apprenticeships to the Omaticaya reach the ears of RDA, what kind of plans would they be scheming? And Atem and the others take part in their very first lesson, reminding Atem of what he did with the eight-legged direhorse. How will they fare?

Here's some more Na'vi names and translations:

Madaro-Mahaado

**Wiya**\- Damn it! (I was having a difficult time finding the Na'vi translation to "Oh no!")

**tsmuke**-sister

**Ftang nga!**-Stop that!

**Mawey, Na'viyä! Mawey!-**Calm, People! Calm!

**Kehe**-no

**sempul**-father

**sempu**-daddy

**Oel ngati kame**\- I See You. (neutral form)

**Oel ngati kameie.**-I See you. (positive form)

**'ite-** daughter

**sa'nok**\- mother

**sa'nu**-mom

Well, time to get started with the next chapter! Until Next Time!


	6. Learning of Tsaheylu

Note: Whew, distractions are not fun, but at least I got this chapter done. In this chapter, class for the young avatars is about to begin, and their first lesson will prove to be one of the most important. Meanwhile, RDA discovers the details as to what had occurred the previous day, and build up their scheme. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Learning of Tsaheylu**

The following morning, Grace and her faculty were having their breakfast, as she was helping Jake Sully explain the story of the events that occurred the previous day. In his human body, Jake was a handsome fellow, tempered by his days among the marines. His brown hair was lengthening to reach his chin, a significant change from the buzz cut he once wore. He smiled proudly as his boss got to the good part of the story. "The last thing we saw, Mai," Grace laughed, "was your assistant's ass disappearing into the brush with an angry thanator chasing after him and four other newcomers!"

Mai burst into peals of laughter. Unlike her avatar, her hair was a light blonde and her eyes were deep violet. But even in her human body she was well known by her students as the sexy school coach of Avatar High. "That's the village idiot for you!" she replied, "Of course, Jonouchi does come at a close second for starting that chain reaction with the hammerheads in the first place! I'm just glad that everyone is safe in the end—better than safe in fact!"

"It sure is something you can't teach in the classroom!" Jake agreed, licking his yogurt.

"And for reasons that have yet to be revealed, both Eywa and the Omaticaya have chosen you and the seven students in your care." Ironheart noted.

"God help us all!" Arthur chuckled, to which everyone laughed—everyone except Norm, who glared at the ex-marine in jealousy.

The wise man continued, "I've taken a look at Shizuka's video, and I've noticed that the greatest number of woodsprites were on you and two students in particular: Seto Kaiba and Atem Mutou. And of the three of you, Atem seemed to have outnumbered you both by one!"

The ex-marine grinned. "You know, if I was this Eywa character, I'd choose Atem above the others too. I'm really starting to like him; he may not know it, but we've got much more in common with each other than he thinks! I sure wish I could meet him in this body soon."

"Oh well, you can always meet him and Yugi in their avatars for the time being." Sugoroku assured, "And as an additional bonus-"

"Yeah, Dr. Mutou I know!" Jake replied proudly, "I get to have a date with the chief's eldest daughter!"

"Oh c'mon!" Norm whined, "You know she's already taken!"

"Now, now, you two, let's not get nasty here!" Pegasus scolded mockingly, "I already have my hands full with my elementary art students." The other faculty burst into laughter, unaware of a figure hiding in the shadows just outside their walls. Nor were they aware of a tiny spider-shaped listening device crawling above them on the beams of the ceiling.

Varon listened closely to the conversation through his headphones, as he directed his remote control listening device in a good position to pick up the sounds much easier. He smirked as he took in the knowledge. _Interesting! I've got to get back to Hell's Gate and tell the boss about __this__!_

* * *

An hour later, at Avatar High School, the students were already abuzz with the news of recent events. "Have you heard?" One of the teenage girls stated to her group of friends, "Seven newcomers from our school have managed to gain apprenticeship from the famous Omaticaya clan!"

"Really?!" another teenage girl gasped.

"Yeah," a third answered, "It's the first time in three years that the Omaticaya would accept avatar students like that!"

"No way!" the second girl squealed, "I am SO jealous!"

"So let me get this straight." A boy noted to another group of friends, "After three years, the Omaticaya clan is finally taking avatar apprentices? And _**the**_ Seto Kaiba is one of them?"

"Yeah dude, and so are the Mutou brothers. You know, the sons of Akhenamkhanen and grandsons of Sugoroku?"

"Damn! These guys are lucky! I wanna be an apprentice to the Omaticaya too!"

While all the gossip was going on, the seven students were led into the link room by Pegasus.

"All right everyone, let's take it from the top." Pegasus announced, using one of the tablets, he brought out some pictures on the big screen for the group to see. The first showed the face of a certain Omaticaya Tsahik.

"Mo'at." Seto stated, his voice hinting disinterest, "Dragon lady."

"Very good Kaiba Boy." The artistic teacher replied, then slid the tablet to show another face.

"Eytu-can?" Jonouchi queried.

"Eytu-KAH-n." Pegasus corrected. "As in, 'Wrath of Khan.'"

"Eytukan." Jonouchi repeated.

"Good! As some of you might have heard, he is Olo'eyktan, clan leader, the chief of the tribe as you might say. Mo'at, on the other hand, is Tsahik, matriarch. She is the spiritual leader of the clan, as in a shaman."

"Oh, I get it!" Jonouchi stated in understanding, and the artistic teacher brought up the photograph of another familiar face.

"Uhhh…Suetee?" Honda queried.

"It's Tsu'TEY." Shizuka corrected. "I may not be able to see in this body, but my sense of hearing is very sharp! I heard the name so many times that I was able to memorize it by now. Try it again."

"Tsu'tey." Honda pronounced more correctly.

The blind girl smiled in satisfaction. "Much better!"

"Keep your eyes on that guy." Pegasus noted, "He's going to be next Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya."

"The next Olo'eyktan?!" Anzu gasped. "No way!"

"Yes way Anzu Girl." Pegasus replied, "Now here's the next big name of the clan." And he brought up the photograph of a familiar female.

"Neytiri." Anzu stated.

"That's correct. She is going to be the next Tsahik of the Omaticaya."—the artistic teacher brought up Tsu'tey's image and put it side by side with Neytiri's—"These two are to become a mated pair in the future."

"A mated pair?" Shizuka queried, "Awww! That so romantic!"

"Guess that means Coach Sully's out of luck." Jonouchi noted.

"Moving right along…" Pegasus continued, and brought up the image of a certain Na'vi in bone armor.

"Ma-DAH-ro…" Yugi stated, "Madaro. Is that right?"

"That's right, Yugi Boy," Pegasus complimented, "He is the Swotsyokx, the Sacred Hand of Eywa. To make it clear, he's what you might call the clan sorcerer."

"Oh! I think I've heard of those people!" Yugi gasped in amazement, "They're able to use a kind of magic that's similar to that of a druid from Dungeons and Dragons! You know, the kind that allows you to control plants or something like that." Not surprisingly, the skeptical Seto rolled his eyes.

"I guess that explains why he was able to catch me using tree roots." Atem noted. Right at that moment, Pegasus brought up the last image, which Atem recognized instantly. "Amana!"

"Yes!" Pegasus replied, "She is Madaro's apprentice, and is currently in training to become the next Swotsyokx."

"Wow!" gasped the impressed Atem, "In that case, best of luck in her endeavor!"

"Well then, now that we got that out of the way, let's hurry over to your avatars!" Pegasus suggested.

"Okay!" Shizuka cheered as she climbed into her link bed.

"From one dream to another," Jonouchi stated.

"May we meet again!" Honda finished.

Seto glared in annoyance before he closed the lid. As Anzu and Yugi helped Atem to his link bed, Pegasus became wistful in nostalgia. "In the school's earlier days…" he sighed, "Neytiri and Amana were the best students under Dr. Augustine's tutelage. They, and their older sister Sylwanin… such extraordinary young ladies!"

"I didn't know Amana had another older sister!" Atem stated as he was carefully placed inside the link bed, "Where is she? I would like to meet her."

"Yeah, me too!" Yugi piped up. "She sounds really nice from what you're telling us!"

Pegasus soon grew sad, however. "I'm very sorry boys, but I'm afraid it's not possible."

"Why not?" Anzu asked.

"She's dead." The trio looked at him in shock.

"_Dead_?" Atem gasped, "How long?"

"Three years now." Pegasus answered, and forced himself to smile again. "Let's not think too long on that matter. After all, village life starts early."

"Oh, right!" Anzu replied and hurried over to her link bed.

"From one dream to another, may we meet again!" Yugi stated before he laid down in his link bed and activated it.

Pegasus leaned forward to face the disabled elder twin. "If you don't mind, Atem Boy, I want you to send Jake Boy a message for me. Tell him 'Don't do anything unusually stupid.'"

"As soon as I see him, I'll tell him." Atem replied. Satisfied, Pegasus allowed him to link up.

* * *

Under the bright sunlight in a clearing by Omaticaya Hometree, Atem was delighted to discover that one of the first lessons of the day was riding direhorses. Amana was with him this morning, and the two of them got about to talking and watching the direhorses as they waited for Neytiri along with the other avatar students. "It's incredible!" Atem stated in awe as he glanced at a direhorse lapping at the nectar of a flower with its long tongue. "I've studied how the pa'li feed on nectar and pollinate flowers like honeybees, but this is the first time I've got to see it up close! The horses from my world usually eat grass, carrots, and apples. Did my grandpa tell you about Terran horses?"

"A little." Amana replied. "It amazes me that they look so similar to the pa'li, aside from having four legs instead of six. Of course, I didn't know that your sky world horses eat certain plants."

"We learn something new every day!" Atem stated with a smile, "Not literally every day, but you get the idea." Amana giggled and nodded, understanding the gist perfectly. "Oh and did you know that Terran horses feel different from the pa'li as well?"

"No, I did not!" Amana answered in amazement. "What did they feel like?"

"Have you ever touched a baby hair as it was starting to grow?" The younger Omaticaya princess nodded. "That's similar to how Terran horses are like; unlike the pa'li, the bodies of Terran horses are covered with very short fur that feel soft to the touch."

"Wow, that is amazing! You know so many things about horses, AteemMuutou!"

"As I've told you before, I love horses, no matter what world they come from. When I was a small child, I used to ride Terran horses all the time whenever I had the chance to do so. It's been a while since I rode my last one, but even today, there's something about me that horses find calming and trustworthy. Many people call me a horse whisperer, and I think this includes pa'li as well." The direhorse they were leading jumped a bit, startling the elder Mutou twin. "Easy, easy… uh… is this a boy or a girl?"

"Pa'li is male," Amana explained, "Pele is female. This one is a pele."

"Oh, I see!" Atem replied in understanding, calming the direhorse mare. "Irayo." He proceeded once more to calm the nervous animal. "That's it, easy girl."

"Do the Sky People have names for the male and female horse?"

"Yes, the males are known as stallions and the females are called mares. I presume the pa'li stallions are a bit more aggressive than the pele mares, right?"

"Yes, that is why we use the pele for those learning how to ride."

"OKAY EVERYONE, ZA'U!" Neytiri's voice suddenly boomed out.

"Whoops," Atem muttered, "Looks like class is now in session. Shall we?" The two friends guided their direhorse mares toward the class where Neytiri was waiting. Each of their classmates also had their own direhorse mare to practice on, and the older Omaticaya princess had just come in with Jake dragging his direhorse to the circle.

"Come, all of you!" Neytiri called to her students, "It is time for your lesson to begin! Before we do so, however, there are a few things I need to tell you. Here in Hometree, you are to call me Karyu, which is 'teacher' in the tongue of my people. As my numeyu, learner, you are to listen carefully to what I say and when I tell you to do something, you do it to the best of your ability. If you understand, say, 'Srane, ma Karyu.' Am I clear to you?"

"Srane, ma Karyu." The avatar numeyus answered.

"Good, then let us get started." Neytiri stated, stroking Jake's direhorse. "For today, your first lesson will be how to ride the pa'li. You call them direhorses. As the male is aggressive, you will practice with the gentler female, pele. For this lesson, I want you to first mount the horse."

"Mount the direhorse, eh?" Jonouchi stated confidently, "Sounds easy enough." He and the other avatars attempted to climb onto the back of their mares. But while most of the numeyus managed to stay put, the underdog fell off on the other side right off the bat. Neytiri and Kii'sara burst into laughter, as did some of the boys.

"Try again." Neytiri encouraged.

Jonouchi lifted himself up, with no injuries aside that of his pride. "Ugh! Do I have some kind of sign that says 'I heart pratfalls'?"

Eventually, all the students were on their direhorses with no further incident. Atem smiled as he adjusted himself. "I still got it!"

"Just like when we were kids, isn't it?" Yugi noted.

"Yeah, but I wonder how this will be different."

As if on cue, Neytiri provided the answer. "Now that you are all on your pele, I will teach you to make tsaheylu." The avatars looked at each other in confusion. The older Omaticaya princess stepped toward Atem. "AteemMuutou."

"S-srane, ma Karyu?" Atem answered.

"My sister told me that you have made tsaheylu once before," she stated, "with a strange pa'li in the forest… one with eight legs instead of six."

The numeyus looked upon Atem with amazement, although they were just as confused as he was. "An eight-legged direhorse?" Honda gasped, "That's something you don't see every day!"

Atem was too confused to reply, but instead asked his teacher, "I don't mean to be rude, but… what **is** 'tsaheylu'?"

She paused for a moment to take in his question. "You really do not know?" she asked, to which the elder Mutou twin shook his head.

"No, I really don't."

"Uh, me neither." Jonouchi admitted.

"Yeah… come to think of it, none of us do." Jake noted, implying himself and his fellow avatars.

Neytiri understood. "Then I will show you. Hold up your tswin."

Atem sweatdropped in further confusion. "My… tswin?"

Amana giggled. "Srane! You know, this!" to which she lifted up a familiar long braid ending with neural tendrils. The elder Mutou twin understood at once.

"Oh! You mean my queue!" He took hold of his own queue to put it on display.

"We call it the tswin." Amana explained.

Neytiri turned toward the other avatar numeyus. "You hold up your tswin as well." Having seen the exchange, the others avatars slowly took hold of their queues. Jake was holding the antenna of his direhorse, examining the neural tendrils inside; he took hold of his own queue, but kept it at a distance to make a comparison.

"Tell them AteemMuutou." Amana encouraged, "About what happened with you and the eight-legged pa'li." The others eyed him, eager to hear his story.

"All right…" Atem answered, and took a deep breath before he began his explanation. "You know that moment when we got separated and lost in the forest yesterday? Well, Anzu and I were wandering about searching for you, when we came across that pa'li trapped in a sinkhole and tangled up in vines. I couldn't stand to see it in such distress, so I went over to help it. As I started to calm him down, I noticed not only the unusual number of legs, but also the antenna filled with these neural tendrils. Curious, I took my queue and held up for a side by side comparison. Something happened soon after that, and the next thing I knew…" He let out a sigh. "It's not easy to describe this in words, but for that moment, it's almost as if the pa'li and I were one… like we were connected with one another."

"Do you want to experience it again?" Neytiri asked.

"Srane! Yes!" Atem replied, "If only to know what that feeling is."

"Then take your tswin, and put it to the tswin of your horse, like so." She turned toward the albino Na'vi. "Kii'sara?"

Kii'sara nodded and held up her queue for the others to see. "Look closely, as you all must do it as well." The avatars by her watched carefully as she slowly 'plugged' her queue into that of her direhorse's antenna. Amana repeated the demonstration for Atem, Yugi and Anzu.

"So that's how it works." Atem muttered, "Okay…" Carefully, he told hold of his direhorse's antenna and brought his queue close to the tendrils. As it had done with the eight-legged direhorse, the neural tendrils from both sides wrapped themselves in each other's grasp. Instantly, the horse's pupils dilated and she reared up in surprise, as a familiar sensation surged through him. Atem's eyes widened in amazement. "That's it!" he declared, "That's the feeling I've experience from the first time!"

Neytiri patted the mare gently as she calmed her down. "**That**, AteemMuutou, is tsaheylu: the bond."

"The bond…" Atem repeated, "Tsaheylu…"

Yugi tentatively lifted his own queue to the antenna of his direhorse and mimicked the action of his brother. Anzu did the same, as did Jonouchi, Shizuka, Honda and Jake. The resulting process of tsaheylu rippled like a domino effect, and the avatar numeyus immediately experience the same overwhelming sensation of connectivity. Needless to say, they were truly amazed.

"Whoa!" Yugi gasped.

"No way!" Anzu stated, "This is what you've experienced the first time?!"

"So that's what tsaheylu feels like!" Shiuzka noted.

"Awesome!" Jonouchi gasped.

By then, only Seto had not made the bond. Kii'sara nudged him. "Tsey'toKaiba, you too."

"All right, all right, if you insist." Seto grumbled, and proceeded with his tsaheylu. In an instant, he too was overwhelmed by the feeling that surged through him, and his direhorse mare reared up briefly in response. Unlike the other avatars students, however, the former billionaire was shocked by the experience. "This… this is NOT happening! I-it's not possible!"

Neytiri now turned her attention toward all her avatar students. "Now that you have all made tsaheylu, I want you to fill this moment into the cup of your mind, so that you will never forget. Close your eyes and feel your horse." The avatars slowly shut their eyes. "Feel her…" Deep breaths resonated in the circle as they concentrated on the bond. "Feel her heartbeat… her breath… feel her strong legs."

"I feel it…!" Yugi murmured, "The rhythm of her heart seems to beat in tune to mine."

"Every time I exhale, it's like breath is blowing on me like a strong but gentle breeze." Anzu added.

"I feel the strength of her legs," Jonouchi noted, "as if her muscles were my own!"

"To literally see the world through the eyes of another…" Honda trailed.

"Yes, I remember more clearly now!" Atem stated, "We can feel one another's emotions; I understand her and she understands me… she and I are one… I will always keep this moment in my heart." Eventually, all the avatar numeyus opened their eyes. The elder Mutou twin asked Neytiri, "What do we do now?"

She answered, "You may tell her what to do,"—she tapped his forehead—"inside. For now, say where to go." And she stepped back so he could have room, as he was going to try riding first.

"If it helps you, think of how you did it with the eight-legged pa'li." Amana suggested.

"All right…" Atem stated, readying himself. "Go forward." The direhorse mare bolted, obeying his command a little too well. Luckily his experience in bareback horse riding kept him from falling off. "WHOA! Slow down! Slow down a little…" To his relief the mare did slow her pace. "That's it!" he praised, "Now a little to the right! Easy… now go straight… very good!" Amana smiled, highly impressed at seeing her friend riding his direhorse mare like a pro.

"Not bad!" Neytiri mused, "It seems you have a bit of experience in riding! Keep practicing!"

"Srane, ma Karyu!" Atem answered.

The older Omaticaya princess turned toward Jake. "JhakeSuuly, it is your turn."

"Oh, sure!" Jake replied, "Srane ma Kayru!" He pointed ahead. "Forward!" As it happened with Atem's direhorse, Jake's bolted in top speed. But as he had no experience in riding horses whatsoever, he fell off right away and landed face down into the mud. As he proceeded to rise up to his feet, Neytiri laughed at his expense as she retrieved the runaway direhorse.

"Ha ha ha ha! At least the village idiot managed to stay on his horse before he started his ride!" Seto laughed, "Unlike a certain Mutt I know!"

"OH, SHUT YOUR TRAP!" Jonouchi barked angrily.

Suddenly, a group of Na'vi thundered into the scene on their direhorses—and they were headed straight toward Atem! The moment he looked back and saw the impending danger behind him, his eyes widened in horror. "LEFT! **LEFT!**" he shouted to his direhorse, and she bolted in that direction, barely avoiding a catastrophic collision. The other avatars took notice of that close call, and Jake shook his head in annoyance as he recognized two of the riders. Atem's direhorse mare reared up, but the elder Mutou twin was able to calm her down to notice Tsu'tey and Madaro glaring at the avatar numeyus, and him in particular.

"It will take more than skill to win us over!" Madaro shouted in English.

"You do **not** belong here!" Tsu'tey barked likewise, "You should go away!"

For a moment, Atem's ears drooped sadly; he had been told those exact same words back on Earth. Luckily, Jake was once again able to speak out on behalf of his students with his own brand of smack talk. "Nah! You'll miss us if we did!" He pointed to the pair, adding triumphantly, "I knew you could speak English!"

As the ex-marine proceeded to lick some of the mud off, much to Jonouchi and Honda's disgust, Madaro and Tsu'tey stared at the group of avatars, scoffing. "_**This alien seems to know how to ride the pa'li.**_" Madaro stated, pointing to Atem, "_**But he will never come even close to becoming one of the people!"**_

"_**And as for the rest of them… they learn nothing!**_" Tsu'tey added with disgust, "_**A pile of rocks can See more than any of them!**_"

"_**Yes, look at them!**_"

Amana was fuming at those insults. "_**You just wait Ma Karyu! AteemMuutou will put you both to shame, and so will all the other dreamwalkers you see here!**_"

"Ma Tsmuke." Neytiri warned, and her sister shut her mouth. The older Omaticaya princess faced the pair of warriors. "_**Go, both of you! You're interfering with their lessons.**_" With that, she smacked the direhorses and the group of Na'vi hunters sped away into the forest. Then Neytiri resumed with her class. "Again, JhakeSuuly."

"Can I at least wash myself off first?' Jake asked.

"Make it quick." Jake quickly sped over to the nearby stream to clean the rest of the mud off of him, but not before he took a quick glance at the assets below her tail. "IyuugiMuutou? It is your turn."

"Srane, ma Karyu!" Yugi replied, eager to start learning. As his brother got himself busy with his first ride, Atem approached the younger Omaticaya princess.

"Those two, Tsu'tey and Madaro?" Atem noted, "I don't know why, but I always see the both of them together. Are they childhood friends or something?"

"Yes." Amana replied, "They are very close to one another, like brothers."

"I see. I wonder if they will ever see me as a friend, like you do… or any of your people, for that matter."

Amana smiled in reassurance. "I am sure they will. Do not worry."

"WOOHOO!" Yugi shouted, nearly falling off his direhorse, "Look at me Brother! I still got it!"

"You're better than Coach Sully, that's for sure!" Atem shouted back with a smirk, putting his current thoughts to the side for the time being.

"That's it! I'm challenging you to a horse race!" Yugi exclaimed, "Or at least as soon as I get the hang of this! WHOA!" Atem just chuckled as his twin continued 'horsing' around. This day was proving to be fun, no doubt about it.

* * *

"Let me get this straight, Varon," Dartz stated once the Australian biker had returned with the news he heard earlier that morning. "Out of all the newcomers of Grace's school program, eight avatars managed to find acceptance among the famed Omaticaya clan?"

"Yeah, Mate." Varon confirmed, "They're all practically family. You see, one of the avatars happens to be a teacher who was once a member of the U.S. Marines, and apparently those Na'vi in the Omaticaya want to study him and the seven kids that came with him. Even now, those natives are getting started in teaching them their ways."

Quaritch frowned as he took in the information. "Hmph, the jarhead part sounds awfully familiar… can't put my finger on it though." The frown immediately turned into a smirk of satisfaction. "Puttin' that aside, this is what I call takin' initiative! Wish I had ten more like you three."

"Gee thanks!" Varon replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"So what's so special about the Omaticaya?" Raphael asked.

"Well boys," Parker answered, approaching the holographic image of the Pandoran landscape, "for one thing, the blue monkeys in that clan are one of the most powerful clans in the area, and the tree huggers of TERF have been trying to secure an alliance with them for years. They gave them medicine to help combat Earth diseases, education to help bridge the gap, and they would have given them roads if they asked for them, but those savages would rather have mud—and it doesn't bother those TERF-holders one bit! Wouldn't have bothered me either, but…" He called over one of the workers at the computer. "Hey, can you give me a close up to this sector over there? A little more… a little mor—wait, WAIT! STOP! Go back a little. Yep, right there!" After some technical back-seat driving, the RDA vice president managed to get his worker to bring up a 3D image of a certain location. "See right there? Their damn village is located in close proximity to TERF's main headquarters and school grounds, and that tree is tall enough that if it's put on the ground the whole canopy would cover the entire turf, pun intended. But more importantly…"—he turned once again to the worker—"Can I get a close up of that?" The worker zoomed in the image of the Omaticaya Hometree, which showed some colored specks underneath. "Thank you." He stated, turning his attention back to the soldiers, "That very same tree is resting upon the richest deposit of unobtanium within two hundred clicks in any direction!"

"Wow, that's a lot of cheddar!" Amelda noted.

"Yes," Dartz replied, "The trouble is, we don't have any structural detail concerning the interior of this particular tree; among a few other details, that's the one important piece of information that we've been trying to extract from TERF for quite some time now. So far, most of our attempts have ended in failure."

"Hmm, that's a problem." Raphael noted.

"So what's the game plan?" Varon asked.

"In light of recent events, we'll concentrate on the students that are now currently residing in the Omaticaya Hometree." Dartz explain, "Someone among them has the greatest potential to reveal the TERF-holders' closely guarded secrets. Of course, we could not travel to the tree itself as it is closely guarded by its inhabitants. The risk going there at this point is too great."

"So how do we keep an eye on those seven students?" Amelda queried.

Dartz chuckled darkly. "Watch them as they go through the human side of their school days, and once you've pinpointed the signs of emotional distress, focus on three individuals. Look for cracks in their armor, find the source of those cracks, and when you feel that the time is right, make your move. Once we have what we are seeking, only then will we move on to the next part of the plan. Oh, and one more thing: You each get one chance for each individual, so choose wisely. That is all."

The three RDA soldiers looked at each other and smirked. "Well in that case, let's hurry over to the outskirts of Avatar High School." Raphael noted.

"Yeah," Amelda agreed, "We're wasting time standing here!"

"I'm with you on this one!" Varon added, and with that, the trio rushed away, eager to perform their duties.

Once they were gone, Parker approached his boss. "Mr. Dartz… I sure hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't you worry Mr. Selfridge," Dartz replied, "You know as well as I do that our shareholders care less about the so-called 'bad publicity'. One way or another, we will get those Omaticaya to move out."

"And if they don't move out?"

"Then we'll hammer them hard." Quaritch answered.

"Killing a few of those barbarians is a small price to pay for a good quarterly statement." Dartz added.

"I'd like to chop at those hostiles immediately," Quaritch stated to the RDA vice president, "But I deeply respect Mr. Dartz, as he is a more powerful fighter than I ever will be in my lifetime. So on his say so, I'm holding off the dozers for as long as he needs me to."

Parker couldn't help but smile at his boss. "And that's yet another reason I like you, Mr. Dartz." Dartz only gave an evil smirk in return.

* * *

Note: And so, trouble is patiently afoot, and who knows when-and who-they might strike first? In the next chapter, the lessons continue and friendships are made, and the friendship between Atem and Amana is beginning to grow. But it's becoming just as clear that Atem will once more be eventually subjected to the stress and torment that haunts his past. It's here that this story starts taking a piece of my own twists and turns: the tricky part is putting them all together! Until next time!


End file.
